


The Fox Steals as She Pleases

by Ahritarded



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: :), F/F, F/M, Other, Reader has a specific look, Reader is a Fox Demon, Reader names herself, Sans lacks puns for now because I'm really bad at coming up with puns, She kind of steals people's souls, You've got some issues with feeling things, also funny, chapters are short because my writing is short, gonna keep adding tags, i really don't have a lot of drama just because i like comic relief, i usually pull chapters out of my ass, not sorry, oh yes I will include lots of flirting and heavy moments, ok i'll stop now, please give me suggestions, so it's pretty chill, sorry - Freeform, to-the-point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-08-31 19:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 31,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8591281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahritarded/pseuds/Ahritarded
Summary: You, a nine-tailed fox demon, haven't felt a thing in centuries. You have never spared anyone, man or monster, from your charms. Souls are what keep you alive and powerful, and you love every last one.What are these.... "feelings?"





	1. The Oddities of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> hi, I've never written a fan fiction. please, leave me your comments and thoughts on this very short chapter!

Nighttime. The perfect time to chase misguided souls. You looked around, trying to find a soul that would be easy to possess and steal. Alas! A short skeleton monster was walking by. But, what struck you the most, instead of his skeletal appearance, was the permanent grin on his Cheshire cat-like face that you could see right through.

He would be easy to take. His soul was so sad, it seemed. You could see what seemed like nihilism within his mind. No matter. Your eyes flashed a deep crimson, and he turned to you, walking towards you so painfully slowly.

But then, a taller skeleton came walked onto the street you had turned the hooded one from, looking confused and... upset? You frowned, which surprised you. Centuries had passed since your last facial expression. However, what you did next surprised your inner, immoral fox more. You released him from your hold. The stocky skeleton looked at you for a second, and as you were readying yourself to flee, he grabbed your arm, startling you, and ran towards the taller, lankier skeleton. How was a skeleton lanky? How was a skeleton stocky? You had no idea. The taller one spoke, "SANS! WHAT CANOODLING DID YOU GET OFF TO?" His voice was painfully loud, but apparently the skeleton you'd released was named "Sans," as in... the comic sans font you'd seen when you tried human technology? "nothin' papyrus, just.... meetin' a new  _foxy_ friend." The giraffe of a skeleton, deemed Papyrus, groaned at that. Wait. How could the skeletons tell what you truly were? Your tail flicked in annoyance at the discovery.

Wait.

Your tail.

_Oh._

When the skeleton grabbed you, he must have startled you into losing control over your shapeshifting magic, causing your "normal" form to be revealed. Wonderful. As you flattened your ears in disgust at your lack of control, you realized the skeletons had started walking away. Oddly enough, you followed them.

While following the two, you noticed how different they were. The taller and lankier one, Papyrus, had an odd... suit of... armor..? on. The red scarf is what caught your eyes though. You'd always liked red, the color of blood, the color of your magic, and the color of your eyes. The shorter and more stocky one, Sans, had what you supposed was a "lazy" outfit. A bright cyan hoodie, black shorts, and... slippers. Their names were both fonts from human technology, you realized.

"what're you doin' there, foxy?" You were startled out of your thoughts by Sans. You opened your mouth to speak, revealing your sharp canine teeth, and abruptly closed it. You had never spoken before. So, you shrugged instead, and flicked your eyes towards him as if saying, " _I don't know._ " His grin somehow grew wider and he laughed. "okay, foxy," He was using that nickname too much, "i guess you can come with us.. even though you're a literal demon." There was no way to deny it, you were a demon. You almost didn't hear him mutter "wow, i just invited a demon to come and stay with me and my bro. didn't think this day would end like this." You bared your teeth to him in a small grin, and as quickly as it came, your expression disappeared. 


	2. The Nine-Tailed Fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your face, but it's softer.  
> http://xevozzez.deviantart.com/art/Challenger-Ahri-539918607  
> colors are the same.

"so, what's your name, foxy?"

Huh? A name? You'd never needed a name in the life you were leading. "Ah..." Sans looked confused and surprised at the fact that you'd actually made a sound. You had no idea what to name yourself. Maybe... Oats? Scratch that. Why the fuck would you name yourself Oats? Table? You weren't good at this. But then, you saw Papyrus's red scarf flying around the kitchen. Of course! "Red." Sans laughed at you. "okay, foxy. you're red now. but i'm still gonna call ya foxy." Exasperated, you growled softly at this new, obnoxious nickname you'd acquired due to your lack of self-control. And, you named yourself after a color. Wonderful.

"oh, and we're going to a friend's house today. she makes good pie." You nodded, then froze. "We?" Who the hell would bring a  _fox demon_ to their friend's home? Anyways, how would you even speak to them? Due to the fact that the 'skelebros' had noticed what you were immediately, wouldn't this 'friend' of theirs notice your true nature as well? "oh yeah, we're bringing you because i want to see what you'd do in a situation like that. this friend is gonna know what ya are, she's kind of smart like that," he tapped his skull twice to reinforce this, "but she won't be rude... she's too nice." You looked at him, confused. Okay. Well. You'd curb your demonic instincts in order to make a good impression, and you began to hide your foxlike features with magic, but Sans stopped you. "nah.. don't bother. she'll see right through that. also, she's got a human kid. heh. kid. anyways, the kid's going to take to ya, i can tell already. try and be nice, ya demon." With narrowed eyes, you nodded. Never had you taken the soul of a young creature, much less used magic on one. You were never cruel enough to try. Only the misguided souls were the ones that appealed to you. "go and clean yourself up a bit, you look kind of messy. did ya not give a  _fox_ about what ya looked like?" You flattened your ears and growled at his pun, which upset you more than the obvious insult. Fox puns were too easy. "Fine. I will be back in a few minutes. Where could I 'clean myself up' as you say?" He smiled and pointed up the stairs to a door. You nodded and began your ascent up the staircase. "oh, and you might wanna change your clothes. they're a bit too demonic for most people's tastes." You took this opportunity to look at your outfit, and you understood where he was coming from. It was a temptatious outfit, being a short, modern hanbok, and you frowned and nodded. "you can use one of my jackets.. i should have a red one up there somewhere." Alright. You'd use a jacket from someone you just met, which wasn't weird at all. 

A few minutes later, you emerged from the bathroom. You'd dug up a hairbrush and brushed your long and knotted white hair and multicolored tail. Oh, and you'd dug up the red sweater the stocky skeleton spoke of, and found yourself a pair of leggings to use, because you definitely would not wear basketball shorts. "Am I more presentable now?" You grinned and showed your teeth, and Sans, for whatever reason, had some blue on his face. Okay. What the hell kind of paint did he get into to have blue on his face? No matter. You were about to meet a friend of the two skeletons that had oddly taken you under their non-existent wings. The two were nice to you, and you intended to return the favor. As you were thinking, an extremely loud noise sounded from the table that sat in front of the couch you were perched on. You squeaked loudly, causing Sans to snort at you and you, in turn, burned red in embarrassment. He clicked a button on a square object he picked up, which was the item that was emitting the loud and frightening noise, and put it to his... wherever the hell his ears (you supposed) would be. You heard a feminine voice that made you feel like a child due to its matronly sound, and saw Sans's brow(?!) bones shoot up in surprise as his eye lights disappeared. The voice said something about someone.. the name evaded your sharp ears.. but it concerned you anyways because the motherly voice sounded frightened and mournful, which was not fitting for such a voice. "ok. i'll look for them," Sans said with an uncharacteristically serious tone to his voice, and he clicked another button on the strange square object. He looked towards you and said, "okay, remember that kid of the friend i was talkin' about?" You nodded. "well... they've gone missing. and my friend, toriel, asked me to help look for them. and i need you to help... you can see souls if you know a characteristic of a living thing, yeah?" It's a difficult thing to do, but you nodded. "great. i'm going to take you to her house, and you're going to pick up their scent and look for their soul. it's red." Great, so you would be the bloodhound in this. But, you felt a strange need to help this skeleton and his friend, even though you just met said skeleton, and hadn't even met.. Toriel? You thought about this feeling for a second. Then, you remembered something horribly important.

When a Nine-Tailed fox demon releases their prey, they strike up a bond with said prey. A wise individual of your kind had told you this before all of them, aside from you, were wiped out by a strange epidemic. Your ears flattened, and your tail fluffed up, while you processed this information, horrified. You'd accidentally formed a bond between you and this skeleton when you had released him, compelled to by some strange feeling in your soul. Fuck.


	3. Foxes Aren't Merciful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please read the last chapter if you had read it when it was initially released, i added a lot of important shit to it. thanks for reading :3

Sooner than later, you, Sans, and Papyrus were on the way to Toriel's home. You couldn't help but feel a bit excited to meet the gentle-sounding, matronly woman, despite the circumstances. "FOX HUMAN," Papyrus began, "WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?" Honestly, you had no idea how to respond to that. Soul stealing was your  _sole_ purpose for living. Heh, dark puns. "Ah... I don't really do anything, Papyrus. I just sit and think, mostly." You had to come up with something; you didn't want to disappoint the 'GREAT PAPYRUS,' as he'd introduced himself. "SO, YOU ARE SMARTER THAN YOU LOOK? WONDERFUL. I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE INTELLIGENT REGULARLY. OTHER THAN ME, OF COURSE!" You giggled at that, "Sure, Papyrus. You can talk to me whenever you'd like." And with that, you'd arrived, far too quickly in your opinion, at Toriel's home. 

The house looked warm inside. It was a small white cottage, lined with auburn flowers. The flowers were lovely, and looked like they were well-loved and taken care of, and you could smell them, even from the skelebros' car. Sans and Papyrus walked up to the door, sobered by the situation, and as you remembered it, you grew solemn as well. You were here to find a missing child. And, you would do so. The skeletal brothers knocked on the large door, which you noticed had scratch lines on the top jamb. How odd. The door then opened, interrupting your thoughts, to reveal a very pretty (and motherly) looking bipedal goat. She had soft features, and her fur was pearly white, wearing a purple dress with an odd emblem on it. "Greetings, Sans and Papyrus. I thank you for coming to assist Asgore," her features darkened a little bit more at the name, "in the search for my child. I assume this... friend... you have brought is here to assist as well?" She asked as she ushered the three of you into the cottage. It was warm inside, with the underlying scent of butterscotch and cinnamon."HELLO, MISS TORIEL. I HOPE WE WILL FIND FRISK!" "hey tori. and yeah, she's here to help. this," he pointed to you, "is red. she's actually kind of pleasant for what she is. she wants to help find frisk." Toriel looked pleasantly at you. "Of course. Please, follow me. I know what you can do, my child." You followed her, as if her request was an order, due to her regal look and tone.

You noticed a taller, more built bipedal goat monster in, what you supposed was, the kitchen. But, as you looked, she quickly ushered you into a child's room, and gave you a small shirt. "Please, pick up the smell of my child's soul, and find them. I beg of-" You held up a hand to her. You would not allow this figure to beg you. No one should beg a demon. You brought the shirt up to your nose. Ah! The scent was obvious. It smelled warm, but almost... determined. Said scent would be easy to track and find. "Yes, I have found the soul's scent. And please, do not beg a demon. I will not allow you, of all people, to beg me. I should be at your feet with what I have done. Allow me to begin repenting for my actions." You smiled at her, and your face quickly fell, becoming one of concentration. "Allow me to find them. I will be back, and I will bring your child back with me, I promise to you, Queen Toriel."

________________

"Sans, I have found the soul. Are you going to accompany me to find the child, or will I go alone?" You asked the stocky skeleton. "duh i'm comin' with ya. this kid's my friend, and i'm gonna find 'em, or die tryin'," he turned to Papyrus, "bro, i need you to stay here with tori and asgore before they go nuts, 'kay?" "OF COURSE, BROTHER. AND I AM PROUD OF YOU FOR FINALLY GOING OUT TO DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE FOR ONCE. PLEASE STAY SAFE," Papyrus exclaimed.

________________

It was dark outside. You supposed it made sense, since Toriel had called late, and the ride to her home was less than pleasant due to "traffic," as Papyrus called it. You followed a faint red trail down a road, Sans in tow. As you followed the faint red trail Frisk's soul left behind, you could pick up traces of stress and anxiety the child felt. Appropriate for the situation they were in. After a painful walk down a very long road, the scent took a sharp turn down an even darker road that was surrounded by trees, and as you looked in the distance, you noticed a building nestled in the trees. You and your skeletal friend approached the grim building, and as you did so, you could feel the stress of the child you were searching for. They were not far. But then, you noticed that there were human guards swarming the area. You thought quickly, and hid Sans and yourself in a veil of shadows, and muttered, "They are in this building. I can sense their stress. We are safe, for now, but we must hurry. Understood?" You asked your companion.  "sure. let's go."

You entered the dark building, immediately noticing how wet it smelled. It must be an old building. Many of the lights didn't work, and you used the darkness that was present throughout to your advantage. Silently, you killed the human guards without them even noticing you. You absorbed their souls, as Sans watched you closely, with morbid fascination, since he didn't even need to help you kill said humans. Unfortunately, your luck had to run out as you journeyed through the building, and the lights flickered on, and many humans noticed you sneaking through the shadows with Sans. You thought quickly.

"Sans. Close your eyes, please. If you see me, you will never be able to approach me again, due to fear of what I am," you told the skeleton. He obeyed.

You used red magic to wind around all of the humans, and broke every last one's neck, allowing blood to splatter on the floors and walls. Then, you absorbed all of their souls, feeling power surge through you, and you felt invincible with all of the souls. Which you were. "Okay, you can open your eyes.. thank you for closing them." Sans looked shocked at the scene before him, but shook his head and nodded to you. Since you had killed all of the humans in the vicinity, you didn't need to sneak anymore. You walked through the building, a sense of dread settling in. Immediately, you noticed a long hallway, with the silhouette of a door at the end that could hardly be seen. Not cliché at all.

Your ears perked up, listening for any being that could be hiding in the shadows of the ominous hallway. "Be careful. This hallway is empty, but don't go in without your guard up. This is too easy," you told Sans. The two of you began walking towards the suspicious door, and as you did, you could sense the child's soul nearing. They were definitely in the room that followed this door. You decided it would be best to hide your fox features.

You took the doorknob in your hand, and turned it. This revealed a dark room, with a single light on a chair, with the child that was the possessor of the soul you were following. You flattened your ears and began to summon a protective red orb of energy around yourself, the skeleton, and the child. But, as you were doing so, shackles were thrown at you, and you fell to the ground, with the same thing happening to Sans. Fighting against the shackles was futile; they were too heavy for even you to take off. 

"Ah, so someone  _did_ come for the kid that we took from that monster woman. Too bad. The kid's stayin' with us, instead of those things, ya got it?" You looked up at the person who beheld the voice you were hearing, but his face was covered by a black hood, and noticed Frisk looking at you with wide, scared eyes. "Why're ya even lookin' for this kid with that  _thing_ anyways? Yer too pretty to associate with 'em, girly," the voice said, with the hooded figure looking down at you, condescendingly. Ooooh. No one could say such a thing about the people who showed you kindness. You growled at the figure threateningly, to which he responded "Oh boy, a growler! This one'll be fun to break, boys! But, first, kill the  _thing_ she brought with 'er." They picked up Sans, who looked completely powerless in the situation he was in, with his hands bound by the shackles that also bound you. He stared at you, as if to say,  _Save the kid. Leave me._

No. You would not leave him, and you would keep your promise to Toriel as well. 

You were beginning to get pissed off. And you shouldn't  _ever_ piss a demon off. Especially not a demon _queen_ such as yourself. Your eyes began to glow a soft hue of red. "What the fuck? Why are her eyes glowin'?" Oh, the glowing eyes were just the start. You felt your teeth grow sharper in your mouth, and your tails began to fan out. The shackles shot off of you and turned to dust, and you stood up, in your true form. You shifted your eyes towards Sans, who looked completely terrified, and to Frisk, whose eyes were sparkling with hope. You growled loudly at the human who stood before you, and your magic began to take form in your hands. Said human was paralyzed, staring at you, tepid. Your mind was filled with one thought:

**_Kill._ **

You shot upwards, tails fanning out in the air, hands holding your mystical red orb, eyes glowing red. You then ghosted forwards, hitting the man twice with your orb, and he took a single breath. You happily took his soul, and then, safeguarding the souls of Sans and Frisk, broke every last soul in the room, and absorbed them. Every human fell to the ground, lifeless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://img10.deviantart.net/3508/i/2015/042/0/9/dauntless_ahri_by_zerutox3-d8hk4jy.jpg  
> this is how red kind of looked when she was pissed. not the outfit, but the pose and expression are pretty good.  
> https://youtu.be/vzHrjOMfHPY  
> she did that. (close it at 5:44)  
> don't piss off red.


	4. Fox My Life

You fell to your knees, but not before freeing Frisk and Sans from their bindings. The sides of your vision began to blur... but, a warmth surrounded you, and you felt... safe, smiling before your vision went black.

_________________

(Sans's POV)

God fucking damn. This fox demon was strong as hell. When she shot up in the air, the only way to describe her was to say that she was in an "Ethereal Frenzy." He then realized she'd freed both him and Frisk from the bindings that held them, and he watched as she fell. Then, a little blur was in front of her, hugging her. Frisk. How the hell were they not afraid of what they'd just seen? Without realizing it, he was walking towards Red. She'd passed out, probably from all of the energy she'd exerted in her frenzy. Frisk had let go of her, and looked up at him, and signed "Who is this?" "ah, this, kiddo, is red. she's kind of a... fox.. demon. she isn't a bad person, seeing as she just made herself pass out to save us." He leaned forward, and picked said fox demon up. "let's go home, frisk. she'll need some pie or somethin' to heal." Frisk followed them and held onto his jacket as he shortcutted to Toriel's house.

________________

You woke up, in a daze. What had happened? Had you passed out? Probably. A warm smell hit your nose, as you shakily got up, and hobbled towards the scent. Oh, wait, you were still in your true form, and you, exhausted, hid it away. You opened the door (so you were in a room!) and walked out into a cozy space, with five people already present within. The motherly goat, Toriel; the skelebros, Frisk, and some other bipedal goat you didn't know. Toriel turned to you, and looked surprised. "My child, you are awake! I cannot thank you enough for bringing back Frisk, but I can begin by giving you this pie!" She handed you a pie in a tin that smelled warm. "How are you feeling, child?," Toriel asked you. "Could be worse," you responded hazily, "but I could really use some sleep." "Oh! All right. I was going to invite some friends over, but I will postpone that until you are well. Again, thank you," Toriel said, "You may go home if you need to retire." You nodded to her, smiling appreciatively. You, Sans, and Papyrus began to walk towards the door, until a small child stood in front of you, saying "Thank you for saving me," in a tiny voice. You patted their head and grinned at them "You're welcome. Just be more careful next time, okay?" You suddenly got a dizzy spell, and your vision started to blur again, and Sans put a hand on your shoulder and guided you outside. "Thank you! Please, come and visit us soon!" Toriel and the taller bipedal goat said in unison from the front door, Frisk standing between them. You turned and waved your tail in acknowledgement and stepped into the car. You put the pie down, and soon, you ended up laying down, falling asleep with your tail wrapped around yourself. Today had been a long day. 

_________________

(Sans's POV)

If he was tired, Red must have been exhausted. Clearly she was, as he looked back, and saw that she'd fallen asleep in the back of the car. "Brother, we're home. Our friend is asleep again, but I don't think we should wake her up," Papyrus said quietly. Sans nodded to his brother in agreement, and stepped out of the car while his brother unlocked their door and walked inside. He walked up to the back door of their car, opened it, and picked up the fox demon for the second time that day. 

While walking into the house, he thought: where was she going go rest? The couch wasn't very comfortable. He sighed and decided he'd leave her in his room while he slept on the couch.

_________________

You came into consciousness, and felt like you were floating. Bitch, you just woke up. Stop floating. However, you noticed that you were against a warmth, and you pressed into it because warm things were nice. You opened your eyes slightly as you were placed onto something plush, but the warmth was leaving. You grabbed the warmth and pulled it onto the fluffy object you had been placed atop. 

You sniffed it, and then you noticed that you had pulled Sans onto the fluffy object, and had pressed yourself horribly close to said skeleton. Oh well. You drifted off into sleep. 

________________

(Sans's POV) 

 _Holy fuck, why me?_ Was the only thing that was going through Sans's mind. The demon he'd placed in his bed had suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him onto said fluffy object with her. And then she pressed herself so close. It was hard to not notice her smell, with her _right there_. She smelled like pleasant blossoms,  _Cherry Blossoms, wait, no, stop smelling her. Even though she smelled so nice._ He realized:  _Shit, she drove herself to this point to save me and Frisk. Now I'm feeling shit for her that no one should feel for a demon._

Whatever. He also drifted off into sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god damnit red


	5. The Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh shit, you forgot something kind of important.

_Return to us, before you lose control, and we swarm Earth in search of you, sweet queen_.

______________

You woke with a start, frightening Sans, who you forgot you'd fallen asleep next to. Fuck. Why were you being called back now? You got up, and ran to the nearest mirror. What you saw paralyzed you.

_____________

(San's POV)

Red scared the hell out of him by jumping off of the mattress and staring at the mirror frantically. Said fox demon looked like she'd heard a ghost, ears flattened with her tail fluffed out. Then, he noticed something.

She had a faint crown of thorns on her head, and her tails were manifesting, seemingly against her will, and she was muttering, _No, no, no no no_.. The crowned demon looked to him. "They're calling me back."

____________

You were about ready to jump into a gateway. But, it'd frighten Sans more than he probably already was. It was too late anyways.

Your status as a demon had finally been revealed. But Sans walked up to you and thumbed away a trickle of blood that was coming from your eye. 

"I suppose I should explain myself. Get Papyrus. He should know who and what I actually am."

A few minutes later, you were perched atop the table in the living room, the two skeletons you owed an explanation to sitting on the couch in front of you. You took a deep breath and allowed your demonic features to show themselves.

____________

(Sans's POV)

Red sat on the table in front of their couch. He and his brother watched silently as she took a deep breath, and he began to feel magic in the air, and he knew his brother could feel the same thing.

The magic dissipated. What sat on the table was definitely not Red. It had her foxlike features, yes, but it was very different. The demon in question had a single, gleaming, red gem on her head, with black markings on her face. Stripes under her eyes, like the marks of a hunter. Her teeth were sharp, he could tell even though she had her mouth closed. She wore stunning red jewels on her neck, with blue stones scattered about the necklace she possessed. However, she was still undoubtedly feminine. Her features looked delicate, but he felt intimidated by her very presence. She wore a black cowl-like cloth on her neck as well, that twisted about her arms like sleeves. The ends hung off elegantly. Her nails were sharp, sharp enough to cut even bone. The cowl did not cover the top of her chest, but she wore a simple, yet stunning black dress. It showed enough to be tempting, but not too much. The dress split down the sides of her leg, like an Asian dress that Alphys showed him once.... a Chipao?

"I am sorry," her voice sounded commanding, "But I am not just a demon."

"I am their queen." 

_____________

Sans and Papyrus didn't look surprised. You supposed it was appropriate; your demonic features were like those of royalty. You flattened your ears. "I am being called back to my kingdom. Something must be going on. I have not been spoken to in centuries, as I abandoned the demonic realm when I left my old life there," you grimaced. Never had you intended to return, but your subjects had threatened to swarm Earth. 

"I need to return, to see what in the hell they want. I don't know if I will even return, but I must. They will enter the realm that Earth resides in, and kill every creature on this planet if I do not heed their call."

Papyrus surprised you, by lifting you up for a bone-crushing hug, even though you were as tall as he was. "FRIEND! PLEASE, DO RETURN TO US. I KNOW DEMONS ARE NOT GOOD CREATURES, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN NICE TO US ALL, AND I WOULD BE SAD IF YOU DIDN'T RETURN." "yeah." You looked at both of them, since Papyrus had put you down, and smiled. "I will try, but I can promise nothing."

"oh and red," Sans began, "i'm comin with ya."


	6. Come, Welcome to the Brute's Nadir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans doesn't really talk in this chapter. it's a lot of red's past and sans gets to see it.

"Are you sure? The domain of demons is a frightening place," you asked Sans. He nodded, clearly stuck in his decision. 

"The demons will also undoubtedly be jealous of you, since you will be my thrall in that place. I will not take your mind, but any command I give you must obeyed, it will be for your safety," you warned. "alright. let's go meet your king _demon._ " You sighed. "Very well. Stay as close as you can." 

You flicked your wrist, and a gate appeared. Flames flickered under said gate, and Sans eyed it warily. "Follow me."

___________

(Sans's POV)

It was warm in the domain of demons. He noticed that Red had taken a new, authoritative stance. Demons rushed to her feet and bowed, and he heard whispers of  _"Queen Danbi has returned! Our savior!"_ Suddenly, Red roared, " **Silence!** " and he heard the ferocity in her voice. " **Take me to the King. Now."** A small demon ran up to her and bowed, "Follow me, your majesty. He called you, yes?," the tiny demon asked. Red had calmed down some, and he was less frightened of her, and she nodded. "Yes, Beh." Said tiny demon, apparently named "Beh," guided them into a hallway. A demon approached Sans, but Red picked it up by its neck and growled softly in its face, " _ **Do not touch him,"**_ the demon nodded fiercely and she put it down. Sooner (rather than later), they were in front of a large, arched gateway. He looked to Red. Her eyes were dark, and she looked almost... frightened. She showed few emotions, even fewer down here - apart from fury. "Your majesty, the king is inside, awaiting your arrival. Shall I obtain your royal cape?" Beh asked, and she bristled. "No," she responded simply, "Just open the gate." Beh nodded solemnly.

As Beh opened the gate, he saw Red getting more anxious. Very subtle signs, but there. She had a small frown, and her eyes were large with small traces of fear within them. _What could be behind this gate that is working her up so much?,_ he thought. 

The gate opened slowly, revealing a dark but beautiful throne room. Two thrones sat in the center, but one looked like it had been unused for centuries. A small and bejeweled ring sat upon its center. However, the other had someone sitting in it. The demon looked goat-like. Elegantly curled horns, with large hooves on the floor in front of him. He had long black hair, with an olive skin complexion. His eyes were a stunning blue, and he wore a ring on his finger that matched the one that sat upon the throne next to his. 

It was then that Sans realized:

Red had left this man. She was his wife. 

He turned to her, and she had her teeth bared and her tails fanned out, ears flat. Her eyes were blazing. The man then spoke. "Hello, Danbi, my dear," he smiled at her to reveal a set of sharp, angular teeth. 

_**"Do not call me Danbi. I am not the wife I was to you centuries ago. I left you and this life when you tried your idiocy. Do not play the fool here, Lensko. I am Red, not Danbi."** _

He smiled fondly at her, "Ah, still the stubborn mule of a fox I married so many years ago." She visibly flinched at that comment. He threw the ring at her, "Take your throne back, and stop messing around on Earth," he noticed Sans beside her, "Ooh, who is this? Found someone new? Too bad. This guy is gonna die, all because of you! You're my wife. Don't forget that." She flattened her ears at him, and snarled, " _ **Lensko. Do not touch my thrall, or you will face my wrath.**_ " Lensko smiled at her and said "Oh? Let us spar then, my beautiful wife!" Said demon jumped off of his throne towards Sans. When he was about an inch away from stabbing Sans's skull with a knife that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, a massive nine-tailed fox was in front of them. 

 **"DO NOT TOUCH HIM. HE IS MINE."** The fox opened its mouth, and as it did, he had a second revelation. This huge, flaming, and white nine-tailed fox that was currently about to spit fire was Red. Or Danbi. He didn't know anymore. The fox spat fire at Lensko, and he flew back, and hit a wall with a sickening  _thud_. It ran towards him and held him down to the ground with a single paw, eyes blazing.  **"I AM NOT YOUR WIFE, AND NEVER SHALL YOU SUMMON ME TO THIS WRETCHED HELL AGAIN!"** Red had a crazy look in her eyes. 

She turned into her human(ish) demon queen form, and held his head in her hands. The infuriated woman moved her hands to his horns. Then, she pulled them off with a snap, effortlessly. Lensko let our a bloodcurtling scream and she smiled wickedly. " _ **That is a fraction of the pain that I felt. You would do well to remember that fact.**_ " She dropped him to the floor and crumbled his horns into dust and dropped the dust on him. 

Red walked to Sans, and held out her hand. "It is time to go. I said it was a bad idea to accompany me, and now look and what you have seen. I will take you home, and you will never need to see me again. I know you fear what I am." He took her hand, but didn't nod. He watched as she opened a gate, and pulled him through. When they arrived, he noticed she was in her single-tailed form. "I am sorry, Sans. Please tell your brother and Toriel I wish them well," she looked sorrowful.

She began to walk away, but Sans stopped her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, and crushed her in a hug. "i'm sorry that's the life you lived." 

She began to sob.


	7. The Fox's Weaknesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lensko is fucked up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: Danbi literally means "savior" in Korean. deliberately chose that name :D

You were still sobbing. Sans had picked you up, and was carrying you inside his home. Papyrus looked excited, but saw that you were sobbing, and ran into the kitchen to boil water. Spaghetti, you supposed. Sans carried you up the stairs, and into his room. He placed you on his bed, sat down next to you and began to rub your ears softly. It was so.. calming. You felt your mind relax and you curled up next to him as he continued to rub your ears. You heard Papyrus come in. But what he held wasn't spaghetti, by the smell.

You sensed him crouching down in front of you. "Friend," his voice was soft, "I prepared Golden Flower tea for you. Please drink it, you will feel better." You nodded and muttered a small "Thank you." Papyrus smiled and said, "I am going to sleep. I will see you in the morning, friend and brother." And with that, he quietly walked out and closed the door.

____________

"ya know, it does help. the tea." You reluctantly rose up, and picked up the tea. It smelled amazing, and when you took a sip, you felt a lot better. "Sans, do you want to know why I left Lensko and my position within the demonic realm?" Sans looked surprised. "well... i won't lie, i do, but i don't want to pry. looks like his name disturbs you as it is," he said, while smiling softly. "Yes, it does. But you should know if I am to stay here," you put your hand to your chest and made a pulling motion, and Sans made a choking noise. What followed your hand was a small, purple soul. But, the soul had a massive crack down the middle, completely splitting it in two. Thin strings appeared to be sewn onto it in order to hold the weak soul together. Blood trickled out of the crack, and dripped onto the floor. "This," you began, "is what he did to me."

_____________

(Sans's POV)

The soul was a very pretty and familiar shade of purple. He had seen it before, in other timelines. He had always met Red, and he figured she knew that too. But the crack down the center made his soul hurt, even though it was not his wound. She never did tell him what Lensko did to her, until now.

____________

You knew he recognized your soul. You knew about the timelines. Resets. SAVEs. LOADs. Everything. "How to start? I met Lensko when I was a single-tailed fox. A lowly demon. He was always going to be king, but he spoke to me, a peasant, and struck up a friendship. We grew, and a friendship turned into what could be called a love. I did not feel the same for him. I have never been able to feel much, but I thought I felt love. I didn't. Anyways, as I grew older, I grew stronger, along with him. In order to be the king's wife, said woman must match him in a battle. I beat him in battle. I was crowned queen, and became his wife. I thought I loved him.." you sighed, "but then.. he grew impatient. He wanted offspring. I did not. I refused him. With demons, you see, the souls need to both want to create a new life. Since I refused him, he was furious. He never treated me the same after that. After so many refusals, he grabbed my soul and split it into two, to attempt to break my will and force me to have children. I refused." Sans looked horrified.

"I left that place. I left Danbi behind. I left Lensko behind. I became the Nine-Tailed Fox. I should have killed him, but I wavered, and left. And now I have brought the new people I have learned to care about into this. I really am a demon." You bitterly smiled.

____________

(Sans's POV)

This woman had gone through a literal personal hell, came back, got thrown to the pack of wolves and came back to lead the pack. He had already respected her, but her telling him about her past made him rethink what he felt about her.

How can a woman show weakness to a person, and then appear to have the strength and beauty of a diamond to that same person?

It was then he realized that he had fallen skull over heels for Red. He was too busy in thought to notice the fox demon lay back down and rest her head on his legs.

~~

He must have fallen over in the night, because he was now laying on his back. Something tickled his non-existent nose and he opened his eye socket to see Red halfway draped over him, face down on his chest. His face turned a new shade of blue and the ear that was right in his face flicked, causing him to flinch. Clearly, this woke up the demon that rested on him, since she made a small noise of annoyance, muttering "Go back to sleep. I'm too tired for this shit. We can talk later." He was tired as well. Each of them fell asleep, taking comfort from the other's presence.

_______________

At some point, Papyrus must have invited some friends over. You could hear three voices, one of which being Papyrus's. Suddenly, the loud pitter-patter of people walking up the stairs could be heard, and the door to Sans's room was thrown the fuck open. 

"HEY PU- oh why the fuck?" A large, clearly female by the sound of the voice, blue fish(?) monster stood in the doorway, looking confused. You didn't even bother to raise your head, but you could see. You noticed that a short and yellow lizard-like monster stood a little ways behind her, and you could faintly see Papyrus. The fish monster groaned "Sans, what the fuck. Lock your door-" "it was locked, but ya busted it open, undyne."

You're a grumpy fox. You raised your head and said, "What the fuuuuuck, I'm trying to sleep," with a grimace. The little yellow monster giggled, "H-hey, Sans, this is the p-perfect girl f-for you." Sans turned a newer shade of blue and shot up, making you grumble, "ooooookay let's not. go back downstairs, i'll drag her down in a minute, unless," he flicked his eye lights to you, "she gets pissed enough ta go full fox on ya." You smiled wickedly and said with your finger on your cheek questioningly, "Hmm, maybe I will." Undyne picked up the short yellow monster and jumped down towards the bottom floor "OKAY! WE'LL WAIT DOWN HERE," to which Papyrus "Nyeh heh heh'd!" to.

___________

"So, punk, what are ya? Don't seem to be exactly human, but you aren't exactly a monster either," Undyne asked, and Alphys nodded to her question. "Ah," you stuck your hand out in greeting, "Red. Nine-Tailed Fox demon, or The Demon of Temptation. I prefer the first title if you must. But Red is the best name to call me." Alphys shook your hand excitedly and exclaimed (without a a stutter!) "Wow, I thought that the Nine-Tailed Foxes were only real in anime!!!" She got really excited and didn't stutter when she talked about anime, you noticed. "WELL, PUNK! LET'S SEE HOW STRONG A FOX DEMON IS!" Undyne yelled. 

That got Sans's attention, and you waved him off. He still looked worried with his brow bones (how???) furrowed. "You punks can come and watch if you guys want! Let's go, demon punk!!" 

~~

Undyne stood in front of you in a fighting stance, spear in hand. You stood upright, with your eyes half-lidded, a lazy grin on your face. Suddenly, Undyne charged to you.

You sidestepped her spear effortlessly. "Clumsy. Too much of a brute, a smart opponent will kill you in the time frame of their dodge," you showed your teeth to her in a smile and offered your hand. "NYAAAAAGH!! FIGHT BACK!" Hm. You looked to Sans. He nodded. 

You allowed your tails to fan out as you entered your Nine-Tailed Fox form. It wasn't quite your true form, nor your monarch form, but it wasn't your human form either. Just enough hidden. 

Alphys looked at you like a child looked at a Christmas present. Not an appropriate comparison, due to what you were, but oh well. "YEAH, PUNK! LET'S GO!" Undyne jumped towards you again, spear first. You didn't dodge this one.

Instead, you made a flicking motion with your hand, and she flew back, red magic stopping her before she could hit a wall. "Good enough?" You wore an even lazier grin. "HOLY CRAP, PUNK! THAT WAS AWESOME!" Undyne appeared as if she'd just been shown a state-of-the-art spear. 

Something felt off. You sniffed the air. Grabbing at the air in front of Undyne, you found the demon that had been slinking around Sans in your domain. However, you noticed something else. Countless demons were in the area. You flattened your ears and yelled, "Get in the house! I'll take care of them!" All of them protested, but you grabbed each of them with your magic and shoved them into the house, securing the door. 

 _We apologize, your majesty. We must obey the king,_ was what you heard before they charged. 

You allowed the monster in you to take over. It was the only way to keep your friends safe.


	8. The Fox's Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the bond between demon and prey is significant btw

(Sans's POV)

He and the others stared out the window. Red had unleashed the beast inside and she was currently breathing fire and wreaking havoc on the demons, but anything she didn't seem to want to burn remained untouched. Undyne stared at her, and turned to Sans. "Sans.. what is the punk, exactly? She's a fuckin' BEAST!" Sans looked at her with blank eye sockets, "The demon queen."

He phoned Toriel, but only after she said that she was on her way did he realize his error. Toriel would be outside with Red.

The fox demon had a crazed, predatorial look in her eyes. He saw Toriel's car pull up, and he sealed the doors shut with his magic, and, not bothering to even shortcut, ran outside. He remembered that he could teleport, so he teleported in front of the beast's muzzle and flicked it before she could reach Toriel's car. The demon snarled and began to chase him, and Toriel fled into the house, carrying Frisk.

It had been several minutes, and her eyes were still ablaze with red fire. He didn't know if Red was even still within the beast's mind. It sure as hell didn't appear like she was.

Then, she managed to catch him with a massive paw. Pinning him down, she snarled in his face, and he noticed something.. something important. The fox demon's eyes had a certain element of intelligence within them, a sign that the beast was not fully in control.

He knew what to do.

____________

_Kill, kill._

_Fire. Hot. Burn._

_Sniff. Skeleton. Familiar. Matter not._

_Hit. Pin. Snarl._

_Skeleton. Short. Why smile? Skeleton gone._

_Sniff. Magic. Familiar. Skeleton. Who?_

_Approach. Hand. Glow. Magic. Familiar._

_Skeleton. Friend. No. Not friend. Closer._

_Kind. Nuzzle. Wag tails. Being pet. Ear scratch._

_More scents. Growl._

 

 "Red?"  _Sniff. Fish._

_Head turn. Who? Skeleton sigh._

"danbi?"

_Me. Why call me?_

_Whine._

"danbi, it's okay. we're all safe now. 

_Safe? Yes. My goal._

**_"Allow me to take back my mind."_ **

_Self. Submit. Sink back into own mind._

______________

(Sans's POV)

The fox demon became visibly calmer. Still being giant, she fell to the ground. Sans sat in front of her, and put his hand on her muzzle. "it's okay. you're okay. we're all okay." "It's not okay. I almost killed you all.. I.. lost control.." big tears fell out of her blue and yellow eyes. Sans started to pet Red's muzzle with the hand he had laid on it. Toriel walked up, "My child, whatever happened, it is okay now. You are back to yourself. You were protecting us," she said in a motherly tone.

"But I became the danger! If I hadn't calmed down.. I would have-" She began, but was interrupted. "red, chill. you're fine now. and you're fucking huge, can you turn back into your normal form? killin' my bones here," he said, and Papyrus groaned. Red flicked her differently-colored eyes away. "Yes.. you'll have to let go of my nose, though. If you stay like that, you'll squish my 'normal' nose." "well, what if i want to?" Sans asked teasingly. "That would be rude," she growled. 

"SANS YOU CAN SQUISH OTHER THINGS LATER WITH THAT PUNK!" You both glared at the fish monster responsible for the words. Red got up, almost dragging him with her, but he let go. Red picked up the fish monster and placed her on the roof, and turned back into her human-ish form. "Good luck getting down. I'm not helping you," and she smiled mischievously, walking into the house. Everyone burst out laughing at that, and walked inside.

"H-HEY!! HELP ME DOWN, PUNKS! I'M NOT BURGERPANTS, I'LL LAND ON MY ASS IF I JUMP DOWN!"

 ____________

Undyne had managed to get herself down from the roof and was looking  _slightly_ upset at the fact that she was placed up there in the first place. Hey, she deserved it!

"So, my child, what  _did_ happen?" You had no idea how to respond to that. Luckily, Sans saved you the trouble, "her crazy ex sent out his little demon subjects to attack and probably kill us. and take her back to the 'domain of demons.' red got a _little_ mad and went full demon fox on them." You nodded in agreement, then began when he looked at you, "Then, I lost control. I only thought in simple phrases. Like.. a.. predator would," you shivered, and Papyrus patted your head in a comforting gesture, but it wasn't the same as when Sans did it, "I have no idea what happened to trigger that."

"Well, my child, you should think about what went through your mind right before you lost control," Toriel smiled sweetly at you "I will return tomorrow, and will bring pie," she looked to Sans, and asked "Should I bring Asgore and Frisk? Perhaps speaking to him will help her to remember." He nodded, and she bid everyone farewell after giving you a warm hug, carrying an asleep Frisk out to her car.

You don't remember falling asleep, but you clearly did, at the table. Because you woke up a little while after, draped halfway over Sans in his bed. You'd shared it too many times to care, and you fell into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really sleepy and a heavy sleeper.  
> so red is usually sleepy and is a heavy sleeper because she's pretty much my own oc and i can do that.


	9. Fiery Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> red can actually make good cookies

You woke up to something moving beneath you. It was clearly late in the night due to the lack of light in the window. Grumbling, you sat up and opened your eyes, rubbing them, and looked at what the hell was moving. 

Sans seemed to be having some sort of nightmare, you hypothesized. One eye socket was flashing blue and yellow beneath his eye-bone-lid (???). You allowed the bond between him and yourself to become more apparent, to find the source of his nightmare and current distress. However, he was unconsciously blocking you from checking his mind. You sighed.

You gently picked up the skeleton, which was difficult because you were a bit smaller than he was, and pulled him close to you, resting him against your chest. Humming softly, you thumbed his cheek to calm him down. He relaxed significantly. You rested your chin on the top of his skull, and he began to breathe softly again.

___________

(Sans's POV)

He felt warm, but not unpleasantly so, and also felt as if he were in an upright position. Curious, he opened his eye sockets, and saw white hair with pink ends cascading down the sides of his skull. What...?

He noticed arms were holding him to Red. Her arms. He turned a bright blue, and gently prodded the arms that held him, in hopes of waking up his fox captor. She didn't stir, but he felt waves of calm radiating off of her, and he suddenly remembered having a nightmare in the night. She must have calmed him down.

Wow.

He thought only Papyrus could really calm him down, but this fox apparently could too. He decided to do a bit of research on Nine-Tailed Foxes with his phone. The search yielded something interesting: a major Fox Demon named Danbi. He clicked the link.

She was apparently the only named demon that people knew of, due to her enjoying humanity and briefly joining them from time to time, mostly in Korea. Her description:

_A beautiful and dangerous demon. However, she tends to enjoy humanity and its creations. She is very intelligent, being able to pick up any language and writing form quickly. This demon's nature is far from any demon in normal lore; she is kind to children, and is shy. The people of Korea said she disappeared a few centuries ago, according to their elders._

It showed a drawing of Danbi, which appeared almost exactly like Red's Nine-Tailed form.  So, Red was this fox. He noticed another link on the same website:  _The known effects of Nine-Tailed foxes._ Intrigued, he clicked that link too. There was a subheading about the demons releasing their prey. 

_Beware. When a Nine-Tailed Fox releases its prey, a bond is struck up between the souls of the prey and the demon. It is not unlike the soul bond of monsters. Separation anxiety, protectiveness, and possessive tendencies are all signs of a bond of demon and prey._

Processing this information, Sans's blush returned. So, he was soul bonded to a demon? That explains why her eyes were cyan and yellow in her fox form. He smiled softly (a slightly bigger grin than his normal, fake one) and closed his eye sockets again. 

He trusted Red.

__________

"BROTHER AND RED! COME DOWNSTAIRS! TORIEL, ASGORE, AND FRISK HAVE ARRIVED!" You heard Papyrus yelling from downstairs. Checking the time, you released the skeleton that was still somehow asleep in your grip. You brushed your hair and attempted to brush your knotted tail, to no avail. "Sans, get up," you shook the skeleton after changing into one of the clean hoodies you stole from the skeleton. What? They smelled nice. He grumbled and turned over "noooo.." You sighed. Fine. You can play that game too. You picked him up and began to walk out of the room.

Toriel and Asgore noticed you looked sleepy, and that you had somehow picked up Sans. Fucking hell, he slept like the dead. Oh wait. You smiled at them after sitting on the couch. "Good morning, Toriel, Asgore." Both of them responded at the same time, "Greetings, my child." They looked at each other and Toriel giggled. 

"So, child, what do you think caused you to lose control yesterday?" Asgore began. "Honestly, I don't know. All I could think of was to kill while in that form. I thought in simple phrases," you responded. "Hmm.. Perhaps your mind decided to submit to your beastly side, to protect the ones you care for? That is the only thing I can think of." Asgore said thoughtfully. You were still holding Sans, who grumbled in his sleep and you placed your chin on his shoulder. "That makes sense. But.. I forgot myself. I only responded to my.. old name. Sans calmed me down." Asgore hummed at that. "Well, child, everything happens for a reason. Perhaps you just need to stay with Sans?" You nodded thoughtfully. 

"Ah! My child! Tonight we will be celebrating a special holiday, called 'Thanksgiving!' It includes a large feast, and we would like for you to attend as well. Sans and Papyrus were invited a while ago, but you recently joined us. Please do attend." Toriel looked at you kindly. It sounded like fun. Even though you had no idea what "Thanksgiving" was.

___________

It was fairly early in the afternoon. However, you had decided to contribute some food to this "Thanksgiving" holiday, so you were baking some fox-shaped cinnamon cookies. Cinnamon was a demon spice, and rightfully so. It could make things sweet, or it could be extremely spicy, and the kitchen smelled delightful. You enjoyed smells, especially if they were vibrant; it was likely your inner fox that truly enjoyed scents. 

"hey red, what're ya doin'?" You were jolted out of your thoughts by a familiar skeleton peering into the (now yours) kitchen. "I BELIEVE SHE IS PREPARING COOKIES! THEY SMELL DELIGHTFUL, FRIEND!" Papyrus yelled from the living room. You nodded, and Sans looked excited and walked to grab one of the finished cookies. You slapped his phalanges away from the cookies. "You can wait. I need to frost these. You can eat some tonight."

Sans was now a disgruntled skeleton. Your expression could only be described as 'I'm tired of your shit,' as you pecked his forehead, turning him blue and immobilizing him, and you picked him up, throwing him out onto the couch. Papyrus made a startled noise and you yelled, "Sorry Papyrus! He wanted my cookies!" "OF COURSE. I APOLOGIZE FOR HIS WANT OF COOKIES. BUT, I THINK YOU BROKE HIM! HE'S ALL BLUE AND BLUSHY!" Papyrus cackled. "Oh, I kissed his forehead. I don't know why he's flustered by  _that_  and not the fact that I sleep in his bed and steal his clothes." Papyrus nyeh-heh-heh'd at that. 

__________

You had finished baking and frosting your fox-shaped cookies. They looked and smelled delightful, and you had to fight Sans off of them several times before he fell asleep. You sighed, exasperated. You had about two and a half hours before you needed to be at Toriel's, and Papyrus was ready and about to jump out of his non-existent skin. 

You had moved Sans into his bed, and you sat yourself down to attempt to brush your tail. Working out a few final knots, you decided it was time to get Sans's skeleton ass up. "Sans. Get up. You take forever to get ready to go places. Let's go." He didn't budge. Sigh. You would have to do it the hard way, then. You picked the sleeping skelly up, walked into the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and dropped him in the shower. Clothes and all. 

He woke up immediately and looked frightened, but saw you standing in front of him and his fear receded. "wha.. what was that for??" He asked groggily. "Well, you wouldn't wake up, so I had to take matters into my own hands," you responded. "well, that was  _cold_ of you. hand me a towel and new clothes, please." Your tail twitched once and you grabbed what he asked for. 

You handed him the hoodie, shirt, and shorts. He had apparently taken off his hoodie and shirt, and you couldn't help but stare. His bones were thicker than some humans' bones that you had seen. He snickered and said "take a picture, it'll last longer." You became a fox tomato as your tail fluffed out in embarrassment. "Sorry! Couldn't help it!" You squeaked out, covering your eyes as you ran out of the bathroom.

__________

You changed into your purple and white hanbok, and you were currently doing your hair. Or, trying to. You gave up, settling for a simple pin-up with a pretty clip. "hey, that's a  _foxy_  hairdo," a deep voice next to you chuckled. You blushed and looked at the skeleton who beheld the voice. He, for once, wasn't wearing his hoodie. Instead of the warm (and nice-smelling) hoodie and shorts, he wore a white dress shirt with black pants. You laughed softly, reaching up for his skull, and kissed his forehead, which left a red lip imprint. He turned a bright blue, and you handed him some makeup remover. "You're flustered by forehead kisses but not by the fact that I sleep with you and steal your clothing." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> seriously sans


	10. What are you Grateful for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was annoying to write bc it deleted itself and I had to rewrite it
> 
> also I'm running out of fox puns

(Sans's POV)

Red was always so nonchalant about everything and he loved it. And her. She made up for his awkwardness and he helped her with her issues. The fox demon next to him seemed to be looking for something on the dresser that had turned into hers, and she picked up a purple ribbon. A pretty shade, but not as pretty as her soul. She tied it into a bow around his neck and said "Okay! Let's go. I wouldn't be surprised if Papyrus left without us." She grabbed his hand and half-walked half-ran down the stairs.

Her hand was not as warm as it should have been. In fact, it was fairly cold. Maybe that's why she enjoyed warm things.

_________

The three of you arrived at Toriel's house in no time. Papyrus was excited to see Frisk, and you wanted to see Toriel. Sans wanted to talk to Alphys, apparently. You picked up the container of the fox-shaped cookies you had baked, and carried it into Toriel's home. It smelled as nice as it had the previous visit. "Ah, Red! Hello, my child!" Toriel greeted you enthusiastically, "What did you bring?" "Cookies, I hope no one is allergic to cinnamon," you smiled and handed her the container. She placed it on the counter, and walked back over to the oven to check on something. "I am baking a turkey. I've never prepared one, so I do hope it tastes up to par," she smiled and you said "Of course it will be! Your cooking is always great, Toriel." Her fur turned pink where her cheeks would be, which you supposed was a blush. 

__________

(Sans's POV) 

Red seemed to be enjoying herself with Toriel. He, however, was looking for Alphys. He needed advice. "Sans! I-I'm here!" A familiar voice called. "hey alphys." She twiddled with her thumbs and asked "What did you need?" "well, i have no idea how to ask red out-" he was cut off by uncontrollable giggling. "S-Sans!! She l-literally sleeps with you and she steals your c-clothes! Even U-Undyne and I have noticed that! This is s-such a backwards r-romance!" He turned a bright blue at that. "yeah.. i know... but i seriously have no idea how to ask her," he said quietly. "W-well..."

___________

You were still giggling with Toriel about Papyrus's, Frisk's, and Undyne's antics. They were currently trying to outdance each other. You noticed Alphys giggling in the corner at Sans, who had become a blue skelly. Odd. You didn't think Alphys had it in her to get anyone flustered. 

"My child, how are things with Sans? I know he can be a little awkward." Toriel interrupted your thoughts. "I'm not sure. I still sleep in his bed and steal his clothes but sometimes I kiss his forehead and he gets really flustered," you laughed. Toriel couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my, I know how he can be, but that's just such a backwards romance, I cannot help but laugh," Toriel was laughing openly. "Another question, dear. How are  _you_?" Hmmm. How _were_ you? "I'm doing okay. Sans is holding me to the ground, and I haven't gone nuts yet, so that's good," you answered honestly. The oven dinged, signaling that the turkey Toriel had prepared was finished.

Frisk ran into the kitchen, and nearly made you fall over with how hard they jumped into you for a hug. "Hey, Frisk! What's up, spitfire?" Frisk giggled at the appropriate nickname and signed,  _Sans is all blue! Alphys said something and now he's a blueberry!_ They were all-out laughing now. "I noticed. I wonder what she said! I didn't know Alphys could get people flustered," you half-said half-laughed. 

_________ 

"Dinner is ready! Come to the table, everyone!" Toriel called. You helped her set out the food and dishes. " _dishes_ looking like a good feast," Sans was suddenly next to you. "I can't _spatu-lie_ , it smells great," you responded. Sans grinned wider than normal. Alphys made a gesture at Sans from the couch, where she and Undyne were sitting with Asgore. He turned blue (again) and looked nervous. "so, uh, red.. do you want to go ou-" "I'll stop you there. Duh. I'm pretty much already your girlfriend, except there were no say, strings, attached before. So, yes." Sans became visibly less tense and breathed out, "thanks, red." You kissed his cheek, and walked over to continue helping Toriel. You briefly saw him turn a new shade of dark blue before you busied yourself with helping Toriel.

___________

"Red, what did you do to Sans?" Toriel looked confused. "Oh! He asked me out and I interrupted him, said yes, and kissed his cheek. I think I broke him," you managed to deadpan it. Toriel laughed so hard that she fucking _bleated_. "So you _are_ a goat! Yay, goat puns!" 

___________

Everyone was sitting around Toriel's table. The food smelled amazing, and it took all of your strength to not inhale everything. You were wedged between Sans and Frisk. Asgore and Toriel were at each head of the table, and Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne were in front of you.

Toriel wanted everyone to say what they were grateful for. The day _was_ called Thanksgiving, so you supposed it was appropriate. "I am grateful for Frisk, who saved me and everyone in the Underground, who has allowed me to take them in and be their mother, despite our obvious differences," Toriel said sweetly. Everyone aww'ed at that. Asgore was next, "I am also grateful for Frisk. For sparing me, looking past my sins and leaving me to live. For helping me to rekindle things with Toriel," he looked so happy. Toriel smiled, and Frisk hid their face.

Alphys and Undyne were next "We're grateful to have each other. And for Frisk, who caused us to love one another. And for our great friends." They both said. "I AM GRATEFUL TO FRISK FOR BEING MY FRIEND! NO ONE FELT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE MY FRIEND, SO I WAS LONELY! BUT FRISK BECAME MY FRIEND! I ALSO AM GRATEFUL TO MY LAZY BROTHER, WHO, SURPRISINGLY, RAISED ME TO BECOME THE GREAT PAPYRUS! AND HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME," Papyrus exclaimed happily. Frisk was next, and they signed so quickly and happily that Toriel had to tell them to repeat what they said, more slowly. They looked embarrassed, and signed, _Well, I'm grateful for everyone at this table, you've all helped me. Toriel, for being a nice goat mom! Sans for being funny and cheering me up, Papyrus for being a really good friend, Undyne for being my BESTIE!! Alphys for helping me through Hotland, and Asgore for being such a good dad. And Red, too. She helped me and Sans when I got kidnapped, and when they got chained to the floor. She made herself faint to help us, and I am so happy she's here with us!_ You smiled and blushed. Everyone had small tears in their eyes. "Sans, you next." Toriel said with happy tears dripping down her cheeks. "well.. i'm grateful for my brother for keeping me goin' in the underground. to undyne for bein' his friend too. toriel for bein' my friend. and red. for draggin' me outta my self-pityin' state. i'm glad she found me. even though she was gonna steal my soul," you frowned until you saw that his eye lights were faintly shaped like little hearts, "she turned out to be a really good person under all that demonic stuff, and i love 'er for that." Everyone smiled, and you squeaked, turning into a strawberry, and covered your face with your hands. But, you were smiling. You've never felt like this before. Toriel smiled brightly and said "Red? It's your turn."

"Well... I'm grateful for having a second chance to have what I've always wanted. To feel. To have friends. To have people I can actually trust to be there for me. To have someone like Sans to help me through my mental issues due to my past," you grinned happily, "But I am also grateful for my past. The darkness and sadness in it makes all of this sweeter for me. I've never felt happiness I've never felt loved. I've never felt love. I've never felt. I've just been numb. But, I think I'm feeling those feelings because of you all. I'm glad Papyrus snapped me out of what I was doing that night. That he made me _feel_ guilty for what I had done. For making me want to redeem myself."

You could see that everyone had tears streaming down their faces. Apparently, you did too, since Sans reached over and wiped them from your face. 

__________

The mood was light and happy as everyone ate and made conversation. Everything Toriel prepared tasted absolutely _wonderful,_ and you told her so. Everyone also loved the desserts and especially your cookies. They were very cute and tasty foxes. It eventually got late, and everyone was looking sleepy. Alphys and Undyne left home first, and you followed not long after. But Toriel had said "Red, please, come here one day and tell me about your past. I would like to know, if you don't mind." You smiled and nodded, hugging her and everyone else and waved goodbye.

__________

You wiped the lipstick off of Sans's cheek, since he couldn't get it off himself. He left and got himself changed out of the clothes that were "killing" him. It was time to take off the little makeup you wore: lipstick and some eyeliner. You did so, and changed out of your hanbok, folding it up gently. It felt nice to be in comfy clothes (Sans's clothes you stole). They really did smell nice. Sans walked past you and scratched your ears, making you purr, much to your embarrassment. 

___________

(Sans's POV) 

Oh my god, she could _purr_. He didn't know foxes purred. His hand was gently slapped away by a blushing fox who was trying to brush her hair. He grinned and walked over to his bed and collapsed. A big mass fell on him a few seconds after the light was turned off. Red. She was still cold, so he pulled her closer to him, and thumbed her cheek. She is really pretty, he thought.

Her slow breathing was lulling him to sleep, and before he fell asleep he muttered, "i love you, red."

He _almost_ didn't hear her mutter "I love you too."


	11. What A Tease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone really loves goats and appreciates agriculture, I'm raising one.  
> http://www.gofundme.com/LeilaTheGoat

"hey red. alphys and undyne just texted me and they want to know if ya wanna go to their house for a 'get-together,' whatever that is." Sans told you. "Tell them sure. Where should I go?" "oh, they're gonna pick ya up. pack clothes; you're stayin' overnight too."

__________

Your tail wagged as you sat on the couch, waiting for Alphys and Undyne to arrive. You enjoyed being in their company, since they were a fun couple to third wheel. You had no idea what this "get-together" would entail, but it sounded fun. "excited, huh?" Sans asked as he reached over the couch (he was standing behind it instead of sitting on it, surprisingly) and began to scratch your ears. You were briefly embarrassed as you purred, but god damn. Ear scratches were nice. A knock on the door startled Sans, but as he was about to walk to answer it, Papyrus intercepted him. You grabbed Sans's hand and put it back on your ear.

"HEY PUNK!" You turned to Undyne and Alphys, waving lazily. "LET'S GO! IT'S FUN TIME, BITCH! YOU CAN BE PET TOMORROW! WE'VE GOT TO GO SHOPPING, FUHUHUHU!" Undyne cackled as she picked you up and you were slung over a strong shoulder. You saw Alphys giggling at you and you mouthed _Traitor_ at her. You snaked out of Undyne's grasp and landed on your hands and knees. Sans offered his skeletal hand, and you took it.

"NGAHHHHH! HOW?" You cackled at Undyne's confused look. "I'm a fox. Sly fox, dumb fish," you laughed and stuck your tongue out at her. Undyne huffed "Fine. Turn your skeleton into a blueberry and let's go, fox bitch." Heh. Fox "bitch." That's a new one. Anyways, you've got a short (still fucking taller than you) skeleton to turn into a blueberry. You pulled down his skull and kissed his cheek, and hugged him goodbye. He huffed as he turned blue and hugged you back. You let go, and hugged Papyrus's leg because you were so short, you could only reach his leg. He picked you up and gave you a bone-crushing hug, yelling "GOODBYE FRIEND! I WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW!" He put you down and you walked to the door with Alphys and Undyne. "See you two tomorrow. Don't get into trouble without me," you smiled wickedly. 

__________

"S-so Red.. how a-are things g-going between you and S-Sans?" Alphys asked you as you closed the door to their car. "I mean, it's fine. Not much has really changed. I still steal his clothes and shit and sleep on top of him," you laughed. "NO, YOU DUMBASS. She means _things_." Undyne said with an evil grin. Oh. Hmm. "Nothing really," you said, scratching your cheek. "You're kidding." They both said as they looked to each other, then at you in disbelief. " _Something_ is going on! There has to be!" Undyne yelled. "No, nothing. Really," you said. "L-lame." Alphys muttered.

___________

You arrived at their house, and you noticed just how cute it was. Toriel definitely helped to decorate, and Asgore probably assisted with the flora. "Hey, we're going shopping soon. You're gonna pick some clothes, and we're buying," Undyne told you, and Alphys nodded. You huffed and said "Okay. But, nothing uncomfortable or too revealing." "O-Okay! B-but I get t-to pick your u-underwear!" Alphys half-cackled and half-stuttered. "Sounds good. Not like anyone's gonna see 'em anyways," you said.

__________

You and the interesting fish-lizard couple were walking around the mall, eating nice creams. Well, they were licking them like cowards. You're a real man. You bite that shit. 

"Only spawns of Satan bite ice- Oh, shit, wait..." Undyne said. You smiled at her and showed your teeth, "That's me!" 

"H-hey! Victoria's S-Secret! Red!! It's perfect for you!" Alphys looked excited to pick out undergarments for you. You huffed and slumped your shoulders, "Fine. Let's go." 

__________

"R-Red! How about these?" Alphys held up a lacy pink pair of undergarments. You took a single look, "Maybe if they're in black. I'm sure as hell not wearing pink. Alphys found said pair in black, and you were surprised to find that they were actually kind of nice. Maybe you'd even wear them. "Looks good. I'll get that pair, if you approve of them," you said with your arms crossed. Alphys nodded and said, "Y-yeah! I t-think you'll fill t-them w-well." This went off for about three more pairs of undergarments. You were able to pick out your own bras (which you call expensive boob holders, because that's what they are) and said items were fairly inexpensive for "Victoria's Secret" and you liked them because they fit well. 

You exited the store, which was a relief, because Alphys and Undyne kept trying to get you skimpy undergarments. You would always shake your head feverishly at every pair of said undergarments, and they eventually gave up. "Hey, punk! We're gonna go shopping for normal clothing now. I'm gonna help you this time," Undyne said, and you didn't like the look on her face. You'd have to be shaking your head a bit more today, it seemed.

__________

You had no idea what the store Undyne pulled you into was called. It looked like it was a store for edgy teenagers.

Perfect.

"PUNK!" Undyne got your attention. "How about this?" She held up a decent looking jacket. It was actually kind of nice; red with gold accents on the sleeves. It had a white trim on the bottom ends of the sleeves too. You nodded. "W-with these pants?" Alphys said behind you. The pants she held were a normal-looking pair of skinny jeans that seemed comfy. "Sure. Looks comfy." 

They managed to convince you to get a dress, but you had them find one that fit you loosely and not horribly short. It ended up being a cyan dress that had long sleeves that flowed about when you walked. It was actually quite nice.

__________

When you arrived at their house, they dropped all of your clothes on their sofa and Undyne said, "All right! We're having a dance party. To Korean pop music!" Korean? You understood Korean, having spent a lot of time there. You actually became a mythical creature, and to some, a deity. "Let's go, fitch. Fish bitch." Alphys laughed at that nickname and Undyne looked like she was having an internal conflict on whether to laugh or make a comeback. 

Alphys turned on some music, apparently by some group called "Girls Generation," whatever that meant. The song was called _Hoot_ , for whatever reason. "LET'S GO PUNK! I HAVE THIS DANCE MEMORIZED! I WANT TO SEE YOU LOSE!" Undyne cackled maniacally. "Let's go." 

You watched Undyne's movements to the chorus as she and you danced, and you copied them. But you did it better, damn. Alphys seemed to be recording it and laughing while Undyne just got more and more aggravated. You even began to sing it (nearly perfectly, with you knowing Korean) which left Undyne shocked. "I'm a fox deity in Korea. I have to know how to dance," you said. "Aren't you a demon?" Undyne asked. You nodded, "The Koreans don't know that." The chorus came back on, and you danced it perfectly as the song ended.

This went on for several hours, with the three of you battling against each other. Alphys was actually really good at dancing. But no one could best the fox demon in dance. Alphys was twiddling with her phone, and she said when you gave her a questioning look. "O-oh, I'm backing t-these videos up. I c-can't lose these, t-they're too f-funny." 

Undyne punched you in the shoulder and said, "Go shower. Upstairs, second door. You're sleeping in the room to the right of it, by the way." You nodded and walked into their bathroom. You weren't surprised to find an anime figurine on the counter, and other merchandise. The bathroom that was attached to their room was probably crazy. Actually, their house in general was filled with small figures and posters. There was even a Nine-Tailed Fox figure! You complimented them on said figure. 

After you showered and got dressed, you took about fifteen minutes to dry your hair and tail. They held water like fucking sponges. "Night guys!" You yelled from upstairs. "See ya in the morning, punk!" "G-goodnight, R-Red!" 

__________

You slept like a dog. Wait. You _are_ a dog. Oops. 

"RED! DOWNSTAIRS! YOUR SKELETON IS CALLING YOU!" Your ears perked up. Sans? You walked downstairs groggily. Even if Sans was dying - undying? - you would still be grumpy if it was early enough. 

Walking into the living room, Undyne handed you her phone. "What do you want? It's like nine in the morning. We're _both_  usually asleep right now," you said. "just wanted to say hi. when will you be back?" Sans said from the phone. Hearing his voice made you want to go back home. "Can't un-live without me, huh?" You teased. "not really," he said, surprising you. "Oh, I'll be back before lunch, then. See you then, and don't go back to sleep. Do something with Papyrus to keep you distracted for the next two hours or so." 

__________

"So, punk, why'd he call you?" Undyne asked. Alphys was probably asleep, because she was nowhere to be found. "He wanted to know when I'd be home. Can't un-live without me apparently," you giggled. Undyne cackled, and god damn her mouth looked like a shark's mouth. "Go get your nice clothes on, bitch. We're gonna be able to bake a blueberry pie when we take you back home." You laughed so hard that you squeaked like a fox would. 

__________

You put the red jacket on, and the bell necklace. It was a pleasant dark red, not too eye-catching. You jingled the bell, and it emitted a calming chime, causing you to relax. 

"PUNK! COME DOWNSTAIRS!" You heard Undyne yell from (apparently) downstairs. You walked downstairs again and saw Alphys sitting on the couch with hairbrushes and other assorted hair supplies scattered about. "H-hey! We're g-gonna do your h-hair!" The small dinosaur-lizard monster said "Okay. But you have to brush my tail too," you told her. 

__________

About half an hour later, you were deemed ready to go by Alphys. Undyne agreed that they would indeed bake a blueberry pie when they took you to the skelebros' house. 

"Let's go, punk! Car!" You wagged your tail excitedly. You would see Sans soon! It had hardly been a day, but you missed him. "H-hey, Red, we s-should so d-do this again!" Alphys said beside you. "Yeah, I sure as hell want to do this again! But I am excited to see Sans again." Alphys wiggled her eyebrows at you, and you turned red. "N-not like that!! I just missed him. I'm literally cold, and he's warm," you fixed your error feverishly, and Alphys giggled and said, "J-just kidding."

__________

Undyne and Alphys put on some more Korean music in their car, and you all danced to it as best you could, seeing as you were in a car. Time passes quickly when you're having fun, you realized. You arrived at the skelebros' house, and you smiled. Alphys got out and knocked on their door, and Undyne helped you to grab your bags (literally two bags). She noticed your smile and said, "Happy to be home, eh, punk?" "Yeah. I love you guys, but home is a good place to be. It's warm. And it has smells I'm used to." Undyne laughed, saying "Well, you'd better visit us again soon, so you get used to the fish-lizard smell of our house!" You noticed Alphys was talking to Sans, who was smiling and turning blue, "Psst, what's she sayin' to him?" You whispered to Undyne. "Probably something about you, punk," she whispered back. 

"red!" Sans called. You walked up to him and hugged him, and he hugged you back. To his credit, he didn't turn any bluer than he already was. "i missed you," he whispered. "Mhmm. Let me go so I can say goodbye to Alphys and Undyne, okay?" "oh, yeah. don't ask me, just pull away. not like i'm gonna say no," he told you. You pulled away, and hugged Alphys and Undyne in a group hug. "Red, watch out. He's literally panting over there," Undyne cackled, and you blushed furiously. "U-Undyne!" Alphys said. "I'll call you guys later, kay?" You said, to which they both nodded. 

__________

"Hey. I missed you," you said to Sans after he grabbed you in a hug. Alphys and Sans had already left. "me too. papyrus would be here, 'cept he's got work right now. he's a p.e. teacher with undyne at the university alphys works at. coverin' for her 'till she gets there." 

You pulled him up the stairs into his room, letting go as you collapsed on his bed. Inhaling, you thought it still smelled like him. A comforting smell. Warm, too. A dip next to you indicated that he had settled down beside you. He pulled you close to him, and you placed your head on his clavicle. The scent was even stronger, and it caused you to relax significantly. You exhaled softly, reveling in how warm he was. You still had no idea how he stayed so warm. It didn't matter; you were cold, he was warm. That's all that _did_ matter. You felt him nuzzle the top of your head and you purred softly, which still embarrassed you.

__________

(Sans's POV)

She was so soft. He knew she was cold, so he pulled her closer, and he nuzzled her head, causing her to purr. Red's purr was so pleasant.

He loved this fox demon. But he didn't need anything physical from her to continue to love her; he respected her too much to ask it of her, unless she specified that she was okay with it. This was wonderful for both of them. It felt right. 

___________

You loved just being close with him like this. It felt more like a love than a casual relationship. "Hey, Sans?" You said. "yeah, red?" 

You tilted his head down and kissed him straight on the teeth. "This is perfect."

He smiled at you and whispered, "yeah. it is. i'm really glad i met you." "Me too."

"i love you," he whispered in a voice that was only for you.

"I love you too," you said softly.

The both of you fell asleep in the other's grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was really fun to write bc I love alphys and undyne. they're really fun characters.
> 
> on a side note:  
> I don't know if this will ever include smut. I've never had an encounter like that, and I haven't even kissed anyone, so idk. maybe if someone offered help, lol.


	12. So Sleepy

You woke up, but instead of being on top of Sans, you were at his side. It was a bit more comfortable, and a bit more warm. You could also tell that he had already woken up, since he was scratching your ears again. Reaching up, you rubbed his chin. "hey." "Hi." The pair of you were people of few words - er, skeleton and fox demon of few words, when you woke up. "SANS AND FRIEND! COME DOWNSTAIRS! TORIEL IS HERE TO VISIT!" Papyrus yelled. You groaned. It's too early for this shit.

"come on. let's go," Sans tried to pull you out of bed. Emphasis on _tried_. "Nooo..." "ok."

You were lifted up, and as you were about to complain, he started to scratch your ears as he took you out into the hallway and downstairs. Damn it. He really knew how to silence you. You could hear Toriel giggling at the two of you, and it was embarrassing to purr in front of Toriel like this, but you really couldn't help it.

"Good morning, Red and Sans! I see you two are still half asleep. I'd like to speak to Red, if I may." "Yeah, sure," you said. Sans put you down gently and you kissed his cheek. He turned blue, making Toriel giggle again. "Okay. We can go outside and sit down to talk," you told her. "Actually, I would like to take you to my home and speak, if you do not mind," Toriel said. That's odd. Oh well. "All right."

___________

Toriel's house smelled as it did before. Still warm and comforting. "My child, please, tell me of your past. I am worried about you and want to know how to help you should you need help," the matronly goat woman told you. Oh! So she just wanted to know about what had happened to you.

You told her everything, and she looked absolutely disgusted and horrified. Not at you, of course. At everything else. She stood up, and hugged you tightly, and you noticed how she smelled like warm cinnamon and butterscotch candy. "My child, I cannot express how I feel right now. Your past was awful, and I am truly sorry," she whispered. "Thank you, Toriel. But, the past is behind me, and I have finally learned how to open up and feel emotions. I'm still learning, but I think I have learned how to love. Sans hasn't asked anything of me or forced me into anything and it has really helped me to cope and learn. I've gained friendship because of him. I think what I feel for him is love, even though I don't know what love exactly is," you said honestly.

Toriel and you baked a pie after your conversation. Well, it was mostly you watching and handing the goat woman ingredients, but you liked to think that you helped. Said pie smelled heavenly; she said it was a cinnamon-butterscotch pie, which was her specialty. She had also wrapped it up for you to take home.

Speaking of home, she was currently driving you there. "Where is Frisk?" You asked. "Oh, they went on a trip with Asgore, to the capital to speak of political matters and monster rights," Toriel answered. "Oh, monsters don't have their full rights yet?" "No, unfortunately not." She sounded sorrowful. You patted her shoulder, "I'm sorry. Humans can be very harsh and unnecessarily cruel, as I have learned in the past," you smiled, and she gave you a small smile back.

___________

You arrived at the skelebros' house, and Papyrus greeted you at the door. "HELLO, FRIEND RED! SANS IS AT WORK FOR ONCE! SURPRISING, YES?" Said tall skeleton yelled. Wow. Sans _never_ went to work. "Color me impressed. He doesn't put any backbone into anything!" Papyrus groaned, "NO! SANS IS CORRUPTING YOU, FRIEND! WE MUST WASH THE PUNS AWAY WITH SPAGHETTI!" He picked you up and took you inside as you waved goodbye to Toriel. She was laughing and recording his antics. 

Papyrus placed you on the counter and began to boil water. He threw the entire container of spaghetti into said water, and turned up the heat. Afraid he was going to burn the house down (again, apparently) you used magic to turn the dial when he wasn't looking. At that point, Sans arrived home and started to laugh. You were on the counter and Papyrus was yelling at his spaghetti. You looked at him and whispered, "Help." His laughs dissolved into an amused smile as he picked you up by your waist and helped you down. Papyrus noticed that Sans had gotten home and yelled, "SANS! YOU HAVE CORRUPTED RED WITH YOUR AWFUL PUNS! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" Sans smiled and said, "i dunno. but why are you _spaghetting_ yourself so _forked_ up about it?" You giggled and Papyrus facepalmed, running his hand down his face. It sounded like something akin to writing on a chalkboard. "SHOO! OUT OF MY KITCHEN! I DO NOT NEED YOU RUINING MY SPAGHETTI WITH YOUR PUNS!"

__________

You and Sans walked to the couch and sat on it, quite typical of the two of you. He pulled you close, and you laid your head on his sternum. He put his skull on your head and nuzzled it.

__________

(Sans's POV)

She smelled as nice as ever. He missed her while he was at work, but he _had_ gone for a good reason. Red was rubbing her head on his sternum, and he stopped nuzzling her to just take her scent in. Sans knew that scents were extremely important to the fox demon, so he decided to learn her scent, too. It took effort, since he didn't have a nose, but it was worth it. Red smelled of cherry blossom trees, but he noticed she also smelled like him. That was comforting.

__________

You woke up, and noticed that it was dark out, since there was a lack of light in the windows. Shaking Sans gently, you muttered, "Hey, we fell asleep on the couch. It isn't exactly the most comfortable place to sleep, so let's move to a real bed." "hngg.. ok," he said as he shortcutted the two of you into his bed. You smiled at his laziness. He rested his head on yours and fell asleep. You followed soon after.

You were awoken again by Sans jerking around, likely having a nightmare. You pulled him up close to you and placed his skull on your chest and began to sing a lullaby.

 _Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window._  
_Go back to sleep._  
  
_Lay your head down child, I won't let the boogeyman come._  
  
_Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_Pay no mind to the rabble._  
  
_Head down, go to sleep to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_Pay no mind what other voices say,_  
_They don't care about you, like I do._  
_Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils,_  
_See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do._  
  
_Just stay with me, safe and ignorant,_  
_Go back to sleep._  
  
_Lay your head down child, I won't let the boogeyman come._  
_Count the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_Pay no mind to the rabble._

 _Head down, go to sleep to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and all your demons._  
  
_I'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason._  
  
_I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and your choices son._  
_They're one in the same, I must isolate you,_  
_Isolate and save you from yourself._  
  
_Swayin to the rhythm of the new world order and count the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_The boogeymen are coming._

 _Keep your head down, go to sleep, to the rhythm of the war drums._  
  
_Stay with me, safe and ignorant._  
_Just stay with me._  
_Hold you and protect you from the other ones, the evil ones, don't love you son,_  
_Go back to sleep._

____________

(Sans's POV)

He woke up during Red's lullaby. Her voice made the the morbid lyrics sound soothing. He picked up her hand and began to rub it softly. It was still cold, despite the fact that her chest was warm. Her soul must have been warming up in order to comfort him. 

He felt his own soul begin to warm itself up in response. It was a gentle warmth that had no intent to harm. The warmth just wanted to be shared.

Sans turned over and hugged Red. They shared the gentle warmth with one another, and he fell into a breathing pattern with her, falling asleep.

__________

(Papyrus's POV [wow]) 

It was ten in the morning already! How could his brother and Red sleep in so late? He marched up the stairs and opened the door to his brother's room, and saw his friend and his brother asleep. For once, his brother's smile looked genuine and not tense. Papyrus decided to not wake the pair up.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Sans woke up, still in the arms of Red. Smiling softly, he turned over so that his back was to her, and he began to stroke her tail. It was extremely soft. It wasn't unlike a cloud; her tail felt weightless and was as silky as one. He supposed it made sense since she spent a good fifteen or twenty minutes brushing it after each shower. Sans wondered if all nine of Red's tails were as soft as the single one she normally sported.

"Hey, if you wanted to pet my tail, you could have asked," a sleepy female voice said from above him. He turned a bright blue and said, "s-sorry.. it was just there and looked so soft and-" he was interrupted by a hand over his mouth. "Shh, it's okay. You can pet it anytime," Red whispered, "But my ears are still my favorite spot." Red thumbed his cheek gently. He loved being close to her like this. It felt nice. He could keep her warm, and she could comfort him. 

__________

You were now up, and currently drying your tail after a shower. Fuck. Who decided that fur should hold so much water? Fuck that guy. You huffed and began to brush it again, this time using the hair dryer you had bought for this purpose. Sans walked in and said, "havin difficulties there, foxy?" "Oh, kiss my ass," you growled. "sure. when and where?" Sans had a shit-eating grin on his face. You paused in your endeavor and pushed him gently, "Stooooop.... I'm too sleepy for this." Your tail was now dry to... an acceptable damp feeling. Good enough.

You pulled Sans out of the bathroom and threw him onto his bed. "Sit the fuck down so I can put a dry shirt on without you annoying me," you told him. "ok." But, what shirt???

You settled for a comfy blue shirt (that you also stole from Sans) and a pair of jeans. You had to buy a pair of monster jeans that had a hole in the back for a tail, since you didn't want to mangle a pair of nice ones. The shirt you wore was long enough to cover the hole, should you need to hide your fox features. Running a hairbrush over your hair quickly, you pulled it into a low ponytail, because ponytails were nice. "you almost done? paps wants us there at like 12:30 or somethin'." Sans said from the bed. "Mhm. Let's go."

Sans took your cold hand in his oddly warm, skeletal hand, and walked with you down the stairs to the car Papyrus had convinced him to buy. It was honestly the twin to the tall skeleton's sports car, except in blue (in contrast to Papyrus's orange one). Sans enjoyed putting the hood down on it, since it annoyed you; it ruined your hard work on untangling your hair! Rude. But, it was nice to feel the wind. You were able to choose the music his car played though, since you had filled his playlist with your favorite music:

Literally everything except country and rap. Yes. You couldn't stand those "genres" (as Alphys called them) of music. Rap was just awful in every way, and country was mostly men who sounded like pubescent teenagers singing about beer or women.. or both. 

You decided to play a song called  _Bad Blood_ by a group called "Creature Feature." It was an interesting song, to say the least. Actually, it kind of related to you. You've done evil things. You don't play nice or give in. But, if someone stuck you in the ground, you'd have the wolves dig you out, and you'd return as the fox leader of the pack. 

You always did.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also the lullaby is Pet by A Perfect Circle


	13. Aha!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bought this obnoxiously purple lipstick from sephora and I love it

You watched as Sans pulled into a small.. grill? Next to his brother's car. "oh, this is grillby's. used to spend a lot of time here underground. well, up here too, before you tried to steal my soul," he winked at you. "I'm going inside. You can join me when you decide to be nice," you huffed. "hey, i'd tell ya to chill but this is a _hot_ spot _._ it's _fire._ " Sans said this like it was a pun. Why...? He took your hand and practically waltzed inside as if he owned the place. The first thing you noticed was how warm the place was, and how homey it smelled. Then, you saw that there was a fire monster at the counter. Literally a flame shaped like a man. Oh. So _that's_ why Sans was making fire puns!

"Hey. Sans. Who is this?" An odd dog monster said from a table full of dog monsters. He had glasses and was smoking a... dog treat? "oh, doggo, this here is red she's my-" "How much do you charge?" Doggo (?) asked. "Excuse you?" You said. "Humans don't like monsters. They don't hang around us. How much do you charge?" The dog monster asked. Oh.

"Sorry buddy. I ain't a human," you smiled, showing your teeth and allowing your fox features to show, "And I doubt you could ever afford what I would charge. I'd say.. it'd cost your," you formed a small, upside-down heart, with Doggo looking frightened, "Soul." Your eyes glowed red and your hands had long, clawlike nails on them. "S-S-sorry! I had no idea," Doggo barked out. He now had a look of terror. You looked at Sans, and he nodded. The heart disappeared and you growled, "Assumptions can kill. Count yourself lucky, dog." You took Sans's outstretched hand and he walked you to a booth with Papyrus and Undyne in it.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Sans had forgotten how truly terrifying Red could be. She could go from a sleepy fox to a deadly demon in a few seconds. Red had Doggo looking like cornered prey.

Sans was glad he'd tamed the deadly demon into a sleepy fox who slept on top of him.

__________

You put your head down on your arms and groaned, "I did the thing, didn't I?" "yeah, but i'd say that was justified," Sans assured you. "PUNK! What happened there with Doggo?" Undyne asked. "Well, he made assumptions. Ask him if you want a more in-depth explanation, because you won't get one from me," you sharply answered. "Friend, are you okay?" You heard Papyrus's voice next to Undyne, and he sounded worried. "Yes," you said dismissively, stopping any questions before they came.

"so, paps, why'd ya call us here?" Sans questioned. "OH! WELL IT WILL BE FRISK'S BIRTHDAY SOON, AND WE WISH TO THROW THEM A BIRTHDAY PARTY!" Ow. He was back at normal volume. "oh. well, what do we needa do for 'em?" "WELL, YOU COULD HELP ME DECORATE WITH UNDYNE! AND MISS TORIEL WOULD LIKE FOR RED TO ASSIST HER IN MAKING A CAKE AND OTHER PASTRIES WITH MUFFET! THE PARTY WILL BE ON THE SIXTH OF JANUART! WE HAVE ABOUT A MONTH, SO WE MUST HOP TO IT!" Papyrus explained. "Sure, I'll help Toriel and whoever this Muffet may be," you said. "yeah. i'll help too, not like i get much of a choice, though," Sans smirked. 

The food was spectacular at this "Grillby's" establishment. The fire magic perfectly complemented the type of food served, and said food would have been great without being cooked by fire magic. Sans apparently had a tab at the restaurant, since he'd spent so much time there in the underground.

You and Sans were now lying on his bed and you were half-asleep while Sans seemed to be (somehow) tapping away on his phone. You faintly heard the _click_ of the phone being turned off as Sans sat up slightly and pulled you over to his side. He put your head on his lower ribs (where his stomach would be if he had one) and gently scratched your ears, making you purr softly.

"hey, sit up a second," you heard Sans's voice from above you. Sitting up with half-lidded eyes, you muttered, "What?" You felt something around your neck and you heard a small _click_. "look down." 

Around your neck was a necklace with a small, blue heart. It seemed to be magical, with purple swirling around inside of it, constantly in motion. When had Sans gotten this? "When..?" You said sleepily, while inspecting the heart. "oh, that day i went to ' _work_ ,'" he said with a smirk. "Aha! So you weren't actually at work. When Papyrus said you'd gone to work that day, I thought Undyne had given him somethin'." You muttered. "you wound me," Sans said with mock hurt. "What it is made of, anyways? Smells and feels like magic," you asked Sans, "oh, it's a special kind of charm that holds the magic of one monster and then takes a little bit of magic from the wearer and gives them an appearance. i'm blue, you're purple," he said. "So, it's kind of mocking the appearance of a soul bond," you whispered to yourself. "pretty much, yeah," Sans must have heard you. Oops. Speaking too loudly. You hummed softly and put your head back on Sans's non-existent stomach, whispering "Thank you."

__________

 "H-Hey! Red!" You were briefly frightened, but opening your eyes, you saw only the little yellow lizard monster, Alphys. "Hey Alphys. What are you doing here?" You asked her groggily. "O-oh! W-We're having a d-dinner party kind o-of thing tonight at T-Toriel's house! She w-wanted me to a-ask you i-if you wanted to c-come," Alphys stuttered. "Sure, okay. What time?" "F-Five thirty," she said, "S-See you t-there!" She scampered downstairs.

"Five thirty, eh?" You checked the time. 3:45. Toriel lived down the street, so you had an hour and a half. Hng. Enough time to shower and suffer with your wet tail. Right on queue, Sans walked in. "Hey, where were you?" You asked him. "talkin' to tori. ya looked sleepy, so i didn't wake you up," he answered as you brushed the knots out of your hair. "Mm. I just got invited to Toriel's for dinner tonight. You too?" "yep," he said as he took the hairbrush and began to brush your hair himself. "I need to shower, stoop," you groaned. If he kept on with this, you wouldn't be able to dry your tail. "fine," he said "maybe some day," he said quietly, probably to himself. "What was that?" "nothing." Okay then. "Well, make yourself look less dead while I shower," you joked. "i'll do it or _die_ tryin'," he said, to which you snorted unattractively to. 

You went into the bathroom, and closed the door before getting ready to shower. Four towels, check. Comb, check. Hair dryer, check. Ready to go! You threw off your clothes and stepped into the shower, turning the water to a boiling temperature.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Toriel has advised him on how to ask Red a question. It seemed to be good advice. Oh, damn it. He needed his "nice" sweater, which he had left in the bathroom Red had taken over. He walked over to said door, and knocked. "hey, i need to get my sweater," Sans said. "Sure." He opened the door, and Red was sitting on a chair in front of the sink, with a towel on the floor, on her lap, and she was sitting on one as well. She seemed to be attempting to dry her tail off and she handed him the sweater he was looking for, "You left this in here. Figured you'd be in here for it, but," she pulled the sweater away, "You need to help me dry my tail because I don't need this shit today," she said with an evil smirk. He turned blue and huffed, "ok."

He sat down on the floor with a towel and a hairbrush and brushed the tail once, and water dripped out. "how much water does fur hold?!" Sans exclaimed. "Too much," Red's voice rang out from above. 

About 25 minutes later, Red's tail was (finally) mostly dry. Sans brushed it down once more to smooth it out, and it was then he realized that he actually liked to help Red; the fox demon rarely allowed anyone to help her, so he felt special. Red had told him that if she, as a demon, asked for help, it showed weakness and vulnerability. Not something you'd like to have in your description. 

He looked up, and saw that Red was currently pulling her hair back into a low ponytail. She stood up, brushing her tail against where his cheek would be and she took hold of his hand, pulling him up. Red kissed his cheek and said "Thanks," making him turn a light blue. "Go change. You have water on you," she laughed. 

Damn it.

__________

You changed into a nice red shirt and jeans. Your hanbok was for holidays and _very_ special occasions only. You put the little blue heart necklace back on, and it began to swirl with purple. It was very pretty, and you smiled. You made a small motion with your hands, and a twin purple one appeared in them. Letting a gentle breath flow onto it, the heart began to glow softly. You placed it on a ribbon, and stuck the necklace in your pocket. You then made another motion, and a tiny fox appeared in your hands, and you allowed it to climb on your shoulder. "Hey, buddy," you said as you pet its chin, "Been a while." It squeaked in response. 


	14. Cedar And Spice

(Sans's POV)

He heard a small squeak come from his room. Was Red okay? He rushed inside, and saw that the fox demon had a small fox on her shoulder, and was petting it. What...? "Oh, Sans, this is Cedar," Red told him, "Cedar, this is Sans." The little fox squeaked in response, and jumped over to him. Sans caught it just in time. "Cedar is my familiar. Found the little bugger as a baby, sick and hungry. Took him in. He's a demon, but not a Nine-Tailed Fox, he's a mischievous one. Likes to mess with people, but you should be okay. He won't mess with you since you and I have a sort of soul bond," she said. "he's kinda cute," Sans said while petting the little fox. "Glad you like him, cause he's not going anywhere for a while. The demons where he's staying haven't been so friendly after they found out that he's been my familiar. He can sleep downstairs," she stared pointedly at the little demon, and he squeaked, indignant. 

"Anyways, it's like.. 4:40. We have to go. Cedar? You comin'?" Sans had forgotten the fox was still on his shoulder, and was startled when it squeaked as if to say, _Yes_! Red raised an eyebrow and motioned for Sans to follow. 

"Oh, and we're walking there," she grinned wickedly.

__________

You knocked on Toriel's door, and it was quickly answered. The house smelled even more like sweet pastries than usual. So warm. "Hello, Red! You are early!" The motherly goat said. "And Sans is early for once," she laughed. "no _kid_ din'," he smirked. Toriel giggled and said, "Please, come inside," as she walked back into her home and into her kitchen. Sans _immediately_ sat on Toriel's couch and you gave him a disapproving look, then yelled, "Toriel! Can I help you bake?" "Of course, my child!" Yay! Sweet smells.

About 45 minutes later, Toriel and you had finished baking, and both of you had some form of baking residue on you. Flour and dough, among other things. "Oh my! Look at us! We're messes," Toriel laughed. She had some dough on her forehead and you laughed too. "I'd say. You've got some _dough_ ," you pointed to her forehead, "Queen Toriel!" She bleated a few times in her hysterical laughter. "Let us go try to clean the entire kitchen off of us," she said, breathless. 

She walked into her room, and you followed. Toriel handed you a towel, and you began to clean the "kitchen" off. Most of it came off of your face and hair, but your clothes were a completely different story. You huffed. "Oh, child, I have a red robe you could use, and have if you like it. I don't really use it; red isn't a color that fits me," she said before you could say that it was okay. "Well, if you're sure, okay." Toriel went over to her closet, and handed you the robe. It was soft, and a deep red, with the Delta Rune embroidered on the front in gold. "You may change in the next room over, dear. I will be in the kitchen, cleaning up."

You walked into the room next door, and noticed that it was probably Frisk's room. A little flower pot was on the windowsill, a yellow flower taking residence within it. It was a lovely flower. Then, the flora turned around, and you were briefly startled to discover that it had a face. "Hi! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower," his(?) voice darkened, "And you're gonna die for coming in here!"

Really? The flower was too cute to scare anyone, much less you. "You're so cute, Flowey!" You exclaimed. "But we can talk later about how cute you are, I need to change. I'm going to put you in the hallway for a minute," you said as you picked up the flowerpot. Flowey started to hiss and attempted to bite you. Your face could only be described as, _I don't give a shit,_ as you put the vicious flower on the hallway floor. He crossed his leaves and said, " _Fine_. I'll wait here. Not like I can go anywhere anyways," he grumbled. "Good Flowey!" You said. 

You changed into the robe and opened the door, and picked Flowey up again. When you walked into the living room where Sans was (still) lazing around, Flowey exclaimed, "Smiley trashbag! Been a while." You flicked Flowey gently, "Be nice!" He flinched and sighed, "Okay." "red, where the hell did you find that weed?" Sans said. "Oh, since I had baking shit all over my clothes, Toriel loaned me a robe. She told me to change in Frisk's room, and this little guy was sitting on the windowsill being cute. I moved him out into the hallway, changed, picked him up and now here I am." You explained. "oh, ok. how did you tame him, though? he usually only tolerates frisk," Sans said, clearly perplexed. "I'm still here!" Flowey's voice rang out from the flower pot in your hands. "Well, I guess he noticed how I didn't really give a shit about how he was acting and gave up. Or he realized what I am and got smart," you said while eyeballing the flower. "Eh? You _aren't_ a monster?" Flowey sounded really confused now. "No, I'm a demon. Nine-Tailed Fox," you smiled. "Oh! Pleased to meet you. Me too, kind of," he gave you an evil grin.

There was a knock at the door, and Toriel yelled from the kitchen, "It is open!" The door opened, and Asgore and Frisk walked in. _Flowey! Were you misbehaving? And hi Red, Sans,_ Frisk signed. "Greetings, Flowey, Red, Sans," Asgore said as he nodded to each of you. "Hi, da-Asgore." "Hello Asgore!" "sup asgore?" Frisk took Flowey's pot from your hands. _I hope he wasn't too much trouble_ , they signed with a worried face. "Nah, he's real cute!" You told them. "I am _not_ cute! I'm the god of hyperdeath!" Flowey exclaimed. You smiled, amused. "Sure, buttercup." He crossed his leaves, and Frisk giggled. 

A few more knocks later, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys had arrived. "Everyone's here!" You said happily. "A-Actually, not e-everyone's here," Alphys stuttered. As if on queue, the door was busted open by a.. robot? "DARLINGS!" "fuck. why today?" 

The robot danced up to you, and you flattened your ears, confused. "Who are _you_?You're gorgeous, darling!" The robot sounded like a he, so you would go with that. "My name is Red, and you are...?" You said. "Oh! I'm so rude! I am Mettaton, darling! The _star_ of the underground!" What an interesting character he was. And tall. You noticed that Sans looked aggravated. "Hello, Sans! I hope you're doing well!" Mettaton exclaimed. "yep. great," he seemed to force out. Huh. Maybe he didn't like Mettaton or something. You reached out, and put a hand on his shoulder, and asked, "You okay?" Sans visibly relaxed. "yeah, i'm okay," he said. You smiled softly at him.

__________

(Mettaton's POV)

Mettaton didn't really know what this being was. Human or monster? Maybe something else, because of the way she and Sans interacted. Sans seemed to relax significantly at her touch. It was quite charming. And, she was quite a gorgeous being! Red would be a great guest on his show. He would have to ask her when Sans calmed down.

_________

"Anyways, darling, it was amazing to meet you! Alphys has spoken so fondly of you, and I just _had_ to meet you!" Mettaton exclaimed. You looked at Alphys, who turned red, and you giggled.

"My friends, dinner is ready!" 

__________

You weren't very hungry, having eaten some of Toriel's pastries while you helped her bake them. You nibbled on a cookie while everyone else inhaled the food. Something felt off again, and you wanted to stay alert, so the cookie nibbles didn't distract you while you searched the outside of the house with magic.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Red looked slightly distracted while she was nibbling on her cookie. Her ears were flicking and she had a distant look on her face. Then, Sans saw the fox's ears flick forward as her pupils contracted. "Sans. They're here _again_ ," she growled. "FRIEND, WHAT IS WRONG?" Papyrus asked. Red gently put down the cookie, despite the fact that her tail was lashing and her ears were flattened. "Something that has to stop happening. And it's going to stop _today_." She walked over to Sans, placed a small, purple heart on a chain around his neck, then stalked over to the backyard door and opened it. "The only one that should come outside is Sans. And that's if I lose control. _Understood_?" Everyone nodded.

Sans and everyone else walked to the window, and Mettaton asked, "What is Red, darlings?" "a demon."

The group watched as Red revealed her monarchial form, nine tails and all. She appeared as emotionless and desolate as the day Sans met her. Cedar was by her side, though. He was a large, single-tailed fox with a mask hanging off his neck, with mother-of-pearl white fur. 

A small portal appeared in front of her, with various demons pouring out. Red held out a single, clawed hand, and made a motion. The portal slammed shut, and all of the demons turned to face her. " _ **Kneel**_." She said it with such authority that no demon dared hesitate.

" _ **You all obey me and me only. You will leave this place, and not return. Tell your King that if he dares send his subjects to me once more, I will kill him**_." Red snarled. Each demon nodded its head. " ** _Good. Leave, now._** " Cedar made a noise towards the demons that a rabid fox would make, and the creatures shrank away. Red made another hand motion, and a new portal opened. All of the demons entered it, leaving this world.

Cedar disappeared, and Red fell to her hands and knees. As Sans was about to step outside, her current form gave into the form of a normal-sized fox. She ran into the forest behind Toriel's house.

_________ 

"red, no!" You faintly heard Sans's yells as you fled into the forest. The others would fear you too much to even be in the same room as you, and you could not allow Sans to deal with that type of situation. He deserved better. "red! please come back!"

"RED!"

"PUNK!"

"My child!"

"Friend.."

"R-Red!"

"DARLING!"

"red... please don't leave."

__________

_Sounds. Familiar Voices. Scent. All known._

_Crash. Bushes. Sniff. Child. Determined. Sniff._

_Unfamiliar scent. Listen. Coming left. Crash into child. Knock over._

_Other scents. Sniff. Terror. Familiar._

_Enemy, bear._

_**Kill**._

_Protect child. Friend. Chase bear. Run. Snarl._

_Scent. Warm. Paper smell? Bond. Still snarl._

_Head being pet. No snarl. Whine. Nose bone-hand._

_"_ hey, you're okay _."_

_Wag tail. Familiar voice. Love. Whine at. Nuzzle. Sniff._

_Name. Sans? Yes. Another scent. Child._

_Frisk._

_More. Papyrus. Toriel. Asgore. Undyne. Alphys. Familiar robot, name forgot._

_Heart charm. Purple. Blue swirl. My name?_

_Red._

___________

(Sans's POV)

Red changed back into her normal, single tailed form again, and everyone stepped away, save for him. He hugged her, and she said, "Home. Please. Too many scents. Overwhelmed." Red spoke in incomplete thoughts, as a predator would. "red's okay now. but she needs to go home, there are too many scents around and she's overwhelmed," Sans told everyone, and she nodded. She hugged him, and he shortcutted the both of them to his home.

Sans picked Red up, and carried her to the couch, sitting down with his back to the side of the couch. He put Red on top of him, and he started to pet her ears gently. "we're all okay." Not long after, she fell into a deep and even breathing pattern. Asleep. He took a picture of her, and sent it to the dinner group, captioned, "she's ok. sleepy. you can come to my house and i can explain what happened."

~~

Once everyone had settled around the couch, Sans began the explanation. "okay. so, red is a demon. nine-tailed fox. she's also the demon queen," he sighed. "but every queen has a king, yeah? well, she was married to one. looks a hell of a lot like a goat: hooves, tail, ears, used to have horns. named lensko, he's a huge dick. he tried to force her to have kids by breaking her soul in two halves. red refused, and she put her own soul back together, and fled the demons' world. they still see her as their queen, though. she stole the souls of humans for a few centuries. then monsters. tried to take mine, but apparently papyrus made her feel guilty. she's still got dissociation, doesn't feel much. but it's better than before, when she felt nothing at all. she doesn't know what sadness is. doesn't know love. anyways, when papyrus made her feel guilty, she let me go. when a nine-tailed fox releases prey, a bond forms between the two. similar to a soul bond. when she turns into a fox, she thinks in simple phrases. only i can make her change back into this. any questions?" He explained.

"SANS, WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL US?" Papyrus asked. "she didn't want you guys to be afraid of her," Sans said softly, while petting her ears. "Oh, sweet ASGORE! WHAT WAS THIS PUNK THINKING?!" Undyne yelled. "i don't blame her for thinking that, honestly. she's really quiet when it comes to her past, since lots of people see demons as bad or unholy beings," Sans told Undyne. Red grumbled in her sleep, and he thumbed her cheek softly, causing her to relax again. "Will she wake up, Sans? We _are_ being quite loud," Toriel asked. He laughed, "nah. not unless i get up, she's a heavy sleeper." 

~~

 "hey, i have a feelin' she'll be up soon. you guys being here might upset her, since she thinks you're afraid of 'er," Sans explained. "But, we are not afraid of her," Asgore told him. "doesn't matter. her mind needs a bit to sort things out," he responded. "Very well. Shall we depart?" Asgore turned to everyone, and the group nodded. Papyrus looked confused for a second, then asked, "SHOULD I STAY AT TORIEL'S HOME FOR NOW?" "didn't think about that. yeah, stay with her and frisk for a little while, i'll call ya when she's feelin' better, okay paps?" "OKAY, BROTHER. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET! I WILL SEE YOU LATER!" Everyone was waiting for Papyrus, and he walked out of the house to join them, closing the door in his wake.

Red woke up not much later. "hey." Sans said while gently stroking her ears. She looked briefly scared, but she realized it was just Sans petting her. "Everyone's probably afraid of me now...” she whined. "red. i told everyone what you are. they still wanted to be here when you woke up. they all care about you. you can think all you want but it won't change that fact, okay?" Sans told her.

 Red looked shocked for a second, then she smiled softly. "Thank you."


	15. Retriever

He would get "Red" back. Of course, he'd have to do it while that _damnable_ skeleton wasn't looking; he was so _aware_ of everything. Then, an idea. He looked to the ring on the throne next to his, and cackled. Grabbing the ring, he began with his plan.

__________

"hey, red. i need to go to toriel's house for a few minutes, okay?" Sans said, waking you up. You nodded drowsily. He chuckled, and said, "okay, i'll be back in a bit," while he got up. You grumbled at the fact that his (strange) warmth was gone. The door clicked open, then closed, and you fell asleep not long after.

You were awoken by an odd noise coming from outside. Frowning, you got up, and walked to the back door, opening it.

Then, you saw _him_ , next to a portal.

The grass was wilting at his feet, and as you were about to strangle him with magic, he knocked you to the ground with his own.

_Too.. strong..._

You left a small imprint of magic, and if Sans could see it, he'd know where you were taken.

 

You fainted.

~~ 

An object being placed around your finger woke you up. You opened your eyes, and saw that damned ring again, and you tried to take it off, but it wouldn't budge. 

 _Oh no_ , you thought, _he's trapped me here with it._

"Hello, my beautiful wife! I've missed you, he said with a fake smile. You growled at him. "Oh, still upset with me, I see. Or maybe you like that skeleton more than I? Don't worry, my love, you'll feel like you did all those centuries ago soon." You tried to summon your magic, but you were horrified to find that it was being suppressed. 

"Ah, yes. I figured you would attempt to free yourself with magic, my dear Danbi. So, I added a little bit of magic to that ring so that it suppresses yours. You won't be able to do anything magical, for now. But if you're nice and become the wife you were so long ago, I'll remove it," he explained, "So, what do you say?"

This man would _never_ hear you speak without fury in your voice. You simply stared. 

"Too bad. You'll be Danbi again, whether you want to or not," he said with an evil smile.

__________

(Sans's POV)

He left Toriel's house, and began to walk home. Sans still hasn't taken off the necklace Red had given him. Looking at it, he noticed the purple was fading some. He immediately knew something was off. Sans shortcutted home, and made a horrible discovery.

Red was gone.

~~ 

The back door was open. He walked out, half-numb, and stared. Sans noticed that there was a small, almost invisible, magical imprint on the grass. He stumbled over to it, and saw that it was hers. 

It was sending a single message:

 _Help_.

He called Toriel and Papyrus. The two arrived immediately, and helped him look for any clues on Red's disappearance.

They paced for hours.

As he began to lose hope, Papyrus restored it. "SANS, I BELIEVE I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING," Papyrus called. He rushed over, and saw what Papyrus was talking about.

Residue of a portal to the demon's domain.

He knew who took Red.

__________

 _Refuse_.

 _Refuse_.

He was attempting to take your soul out, to attempt to rebond with you. 

 _Refuse_. 

"Come, now! We'll be together forever again!" He called. "Let me in!"

You would hold out for as long as you could. Maybe Sans could figure out how to get to you. 

__________

"how are we gonna make a portal? red is the only person i know who can." Sans told Toriel and Papyrus. "Perhaps we could ask Gerson?" Toriel suggested, "He is an odd fellow, sure, but he is quite wise." That actually wasn't a bad idea.

Toriel knew where Gerson lived, so she quickly drove the trio to said home. She gently rapped on the door, and the turtle monster opened it. "Well hello, your majesty! I didn't expect ya today, wahaha!" Gerson laughed.

~~

"Gerson, would you know any information on demonic portals?" Toriel asked.

"Well, odd topic, but I know a 'lil on 'em! What do ya need ta know?" Gerson said. "Well, we must open one. A friend was.. taken," she told him. "Wahaha! That's it? Ya just gotta find any demon at all! Minor demons too! They can all open portals, gotta get home somehow, eh?" He snickered.

Sans was perplexed by the fact that Gerson even knew about such a topic, even willing to talk about it. "thanks gerson. i'll bring my... friend.. over when we get her back, so you can meet her." Sans said.

"Your friend sounds like a great time, if she's gettin' taken to the demon world! Wahahaha!" 

~~

But, where would Sans find a minor demon? He didn't know any other demon in a friendly way, aside from Red.

 _Wait_.

Yes, he did.

Cedar was a minor fox demon!

"guys, i know a demon who i'm on good terms with who would be willing to help find red," he told Toriel and Papyrus. "GREAT! HOW ARE WE GOING TO CONTACT THEM, BROTHER?" Papyrus called.

"i've got an idea."

Sans could use the partial bond between him and Red to try calling Cedar. He sat down, and used the magic to summon a blaster, but instead of envisioning a blaster, he envisioned Cedar.

The little fox appeared on the carpet in front of him, and Toriel and Papyrus looked completely at a loss for words.

"Meeeh.. What are you calling me for? I'm trying to grieve for Red, since I have no idea where she went!" Cedar said. "well i- wait, you can talk?"

"Durr. You're partially bonded to Red, so we're more in-sync, so you can understand me! Hah!" 

Wow, okay. That makes things easier communication-wise. "well, i know where red is. can you open a portal?" He asked. "Yay! And yep," the tiny fox demon said. "But mine ain't as stable as Red's. She's strong, so hers are _hell_ a stable," Cedar said as he dissolved into giggles. "good one. never thought i would be the one sayin' this, but let's save the jokes for later," Sans said. "Hehe, okay. So, portal.." He turned the trio, "You're gonna wanna be careful walkin' through, since my portal's less stable. Just go one at a time, and you'll all be 'kay. 'Kay?" They all agreed, despite his foreboding words, and walked outside. "I'll also be your guide. Heh. You'll be needin' someone to watch your back in there. Demons usually ain't as friendly as me and Red, so be careful," Cedar warned them. 

__________

He had finally left you alone. But, a pool of dark red blood was forming at your feet. The suppression of your magic was too much for your body to handle. Keeping yourself awake was also overwhelming you, and everything faded to black.

 ~~~~~~

~~_** Hello again. How have you been, friend? ** _ ~~

~~~~ _I'm okay. But my soul is falling apart. I need your help again._

**~~ _Of course. All you need to do is remember._ ~~ **

~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~_I can't forget a lifelong friend._

_~~ **You would be surprised. I've been forgotten by my family and friends. But, that cannot be helped. It was my own fault. Anyways, shall I help you to heal now?** ~~ _

_~~~~If it's okay._

  ** _ ~~Yes, my friend.~~_**

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ _If I may ask, why do you help me? Does it not take a toll on you?_

~~**_Yes, it takes a large toll on me. But, you are important to people I care greatly for, even if they do not remember me. I will not sit idly and watch as you expire or become weak if I can help you, friend._ ** ~~

~~~~ ~~~~_Thank you._

____________

(Sans's POV)

He and his little group were being led through the domain of demons. It was a place that should have invoked a fear response within him, but he felt immune to it. His friend and his brother looked mildly fearful, but they persevered.

"So, how'd y'all find out where Red went? Why'd she go?" Their guide said. "she left us a message. and she didn't go, she got taken," he answered. "Oh goody," Cedar replied.

"Wait," the demon said as he held his tail up.

"There's some suppression magic here. It's Lensko's. Figures, since he _loves_  it," Cedar said. "I can faintly feel Red. But she's slipping away fast. We need to help 'er, and quick, before it's too late." Sans's pupils disappeared in anger and fear. This guy didn't know when to give up, did he? 

Well, neither did Sans.


	16. Echoes of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew Red in her hanbok from the second chapter.
> 
> notice how emotionless she looks 
> 
> http://undertrashahriplayer.deviantart.com/art/Yes-How-Can-I-Help-You-649122216

(Sans's POV)  

"Y'all are gonna need to be careful here. This is Lensko's palace. Red's here. But she won't be for much longer," Cedar warned them.  

"Cedar." 

"Beh." 

"What are you doing here? And bringing these beings with you, no less!" Beh questioned angrily. 

"Well, ya see, my friends and me here are gonna save Red from this weirdo!" He answered. "Ah. I would advise against it. As much as I disdain having Red here under these terms, Lensko is... less than all there at the moment. He is convinced the wife she was is still alive," he sighed, "But that wife died centuries ago. She was reborn as Red, and has truly fallen for another.. he will be dangerous to see, and fighting him is out of the question." 

Angry ex, check.

Damsel in distress?

Maybe check. Red wasn't really a damsel. She was about to be a widow, though. 

"please.. i can't lose her.." Sans muttered. Beh sighed softly. "Very well. But this is for Red, and because I care for her as a dear friend. Do not fail her." 

~~

Beh was currently guiding the group through the castle, which was unnecessarily expansive. It was dark and gloomy, lit with torches in the endless halls.

He stopped them in front of a door.

 _The_ door. 

Beh pulled a key from his pocket and placed it into the lock. "After you enter, I must lock the door. I hope that is okay with you and your little.. group?" He said. Sans looked to Toriel and Papyrus, who had been (oddly) silent, and they nodded. "Very well."

The key was turned slowly, creating a sense of dread, and the doors creaked open.

"My child.." 

Red was on her knees in a pool of her own blood with Lensko sitting on a throne next to her. Something seemed... off. Sans looked at her face.

Her normally blood-red irises now were a muted red, with a milky cyan pupil sitting at the center.

"Ah, friends! I'm sure she appreciates your efforts to help her, but Your Red is no longer Red! She is Danbi again!" The goatlike demon said. "No..." Red said breathlessly beside him. So, she was still Red. But probably not for much longer, judging by her eyes. 

"BROTHER, WHAT IS WRONG WITH RED?" 

"she's dying and being forced to reawaken as who she was before, paps. i don't know if we can actually help her," he responded. "Surely you do not mean to leave Red here-" " _no_. i'm gonna die before that happens." 

"Die indeed! I fully intend to keep her this time, and have what has always meant to exist! And she is going to love it!" Lekso interrupted. "Sans," Cedar whispered, "She's got a ring on her index finger. I'll bet that's what he's usin' to suppress her. So, if ya take it off, she'll probably be okay. We'll need ta take Lensko out though." Fucking brilliant, little guy. "ok. let's go, then." 

"No, he's strong. Remember your bond with Red? Yeah? Good. When ya bond with a demon, the non-demon 'parently gains.... abilities. Ya got those 'lil blasters up your sleeve? Use 'em." The fox said. Oh, cool.

"Oh, and I'll distract 'im for ya. I'm too quick to catch, hah!" He ran off over to the goat demon. "guys," Toriel and Papyrus looked to him, "i need you to help red while cedar and i take care of lensko. there's a ring on her index finger. take it off.. it's literally killing her," he said. "Of course." "YES, BROTHER!" 

Cedar was currently winding around Lensko, aggravating him to no end. The fox signaled to him to hit Lensko with a blaster. Okay. Sans's left eye became blank, and the right had a hauntingly cyan pupil in the other. He made the familiar motion of summoning a blaster.

The blaster was _huge_.

It even scared him, albeit briefly.

The blaster didn't even need to hit Lensko with magic. It could have just bitten him in half with its gigantuous teeth. It had deep cyan eyes that could see someone's soul. All in all, the dragon-canid head was terrifying. 

__________

It was difficult to see. But you could still sense things. Scent things. Hear things. Even if your fox form's whiskers appeared to be invisible, the marks on your cheeks functioned as whiskers should.

A change in the air?

Cedar. Toriel. Papyrus. Sans.

They had found you.

But you didn't know if your mind could remain stable enough for them to take Lensko out before you went ballistic from the suppressed magic. You bit your tongue with sharp teeth, causing yourself pain, but it kept you around. Pain kept you from losing control.

Hopefully, for long enough.

~~

You tried pulling the ring off. It didn't budge, even if you pulled with all of your might. You could hear the soft pitter-patter of paws and the solid stip-stepping of boots.

"My child, it is Toriel. Papyrus is here as well. We are here to help. Give me your hand, dear," the woman said. Her voice brought you comfort. You held out your hand, and you felt something dripping off of it. It smelled coppery and metallic. Probably blood. Your friends were startled, by the sound of it. 

Toriel took a hold of your index finger, and pulled the ring off gently. Even with her gentleness, it _burned_. It felt as if someone was slowly stripping the skin off of your fingers. Like that feeling when you have a piece of skin hanging on the top of your nail, and you pull it off, but you pull too much off. That was the feeling.

You bit your tongue harder.

You heard a click, which you assumed was her handing the ring to Papyrus. "I will be healing you now, Red. Please do not be afraid," she warned. You nodded, numb.

You could feel anger sparking in the air. Where was Sans? He wasn't near you. Your thoughts were interrupted by a warm feeling on your hand. Healing magic. 

Your vision was slowly returning, but it was still blurry. Looking around, you saw Sans and Cedar fighting against an _enraged_ Lensko. It was like a spectacular light show.

Oh no. Lensko would kill them.

"FRIEND, WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. PLEASE STAY HERE," Papyrus said. "Please, my child." You sighed, and nodded.

But that didn't mean you couldn't help Sans.

You allowed some of your suppressed magic to flow to Sans, through the bond the two of you shared. Doing so without a real soul bond had physical consequences, but you didn't mind. A Nine-Tailed Fox's beauty could not be marred by scars.

And, no, you weren't vain. That was the truth.

You were being careful, because if you shared too much magic at a time, Sans would get overwhelmed. He would gain the (likely) unwanted ability of transforming, for the most part, unwillingly into a vicious beast, if you did. 

 _He's summoning another blaster_ , you thought,  _So let's make it a little more... Demonic._

So you did.

Its pupils were.. terrifying. The creature had two cyan irises just as they would normally, but they had slits in the middle of them to act as pupils.

They were a pure, deep crimson.

Well, hot damn. If only it had a body and was as big as a normal-sized dog, you'd take it as your hellhound. To be honest, you could probably create one, but that wasn't fun enough. The creature's teeth were massive, (un)holy crap. 

"Red, are you causing those.. things... to appear..?" Toriel asked, confused. "Nah, that's Sans. I'm just helping him out," you said with a wink. You faintly heard a roar.

"Oh mother fuck _and_ her baby fucklings. Am I really gonna have to do this?" You said. "DO WHAT, FRIEND?"

"Dance," you said. "My child, you can dance?" Toriel asked, to which you responded, "Of course. I am a deity, and the demon of pleasure. Dance is considered a pleasure, no? Deities also must be able to dance. " You got up

You began to dance gracefully onto the "battlefield." Sans looked at you confused, and you winked at him, while Cedar looked at you excitedly. "What are you doing? I'm protecting you from this _thing_!" Lensko yelled.

"Let us dance," you said.

You began to gracefully dance in a traditional Korean style. However, each time you twirled and raised your arms, you shot small, but powerful, beams of magic at Lensko, who was entranced. The magic was bright and hot, and held all of your hatred for the man. 

And there was a lot of that.

However, his trance was brief. He snapped out his mesmerization, and began to hit you with a barrage of magic, but you simply danced out of the way. You shot a large beam of magic at Lensko, since he was stumbling around clumsily. He fell, and you looked for his soul.

You took a hold of it and began to crack it. Slowly. Painfully.

Just as he did to you.

He opened his mouth in a silent scream, but his eyes dimmed quickly from the bright blue to a muted one.

You absorbed the soul, but instead of consuming it, you stored it. It would be needed at a later time.

Lensko was now dead, and he could never come back. You felt.. nothing. No remorse. No anger. Nothing.

 __________

(Sans's POV)

Red's face looked.... blank. Like she felt nothing. There wasn't anything to read. Unless her face was a book.

But that book was in Mandarin Chinese to him.

"you ok?" He asked. "Mm. Just don't feel anything right now. No grief. Anger. Nothing," she said without emotion. Sans reached over, and held her hand, and she held it back. Red's eyes flicked to him, and he noticed that her irises had returned to their normally beautiful deep crimson. She blinked and smiled softly, "I know," she said, "When demons are bonded to someone for a period of time, we gain physical attributes from their magic. I really don't want to go into too much detail..."

"s'okay. you don't need to," Sans told her while hugging her.

 


	17. This Is A Chapter In Which I Come Up With Puns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't come up with a fucking title

"FRIEND, IS IT OVER?" Papyrus asked you. "I'm afraid not, Papyrus. I've still got to watch this place. Be a monarch and... stuff," you sighed. "But for now, let's go home." 

You opened a portal back to the yard behind the skelebros' home. As everyone was walking through, Toriel stopped next to you. "My child," she began in a sweet tone, "I could offer you some advice and help on monarchy. Come to my home anytime." You had forgotten Toriel's role in monster society for a while. She seemed too kind to be a queen. "Okay," you said. The goat woman stepped through the portal, smiling, Cedar following, then you.

The grass was cool. As was the air. Well, everything was cold compared to that place, since there were torches and fires fucking _everywhere_. You were also feeling colder than usual, probably because you were covered in your own blood.

"hey, you should go upstairs and clean up, don't ya think?" Sans said next to you. "I Suppose I should," you sighed, "Sorry about the robe, Toriel." She smiled and said, "It is okay, child. You may keep it after you clean it - I do believe it suits you better. Red is not my color," and she winked, "I will see you soon, my child!" Then, Toriel left.

It felt a bit colder without her.

You sighed and said, "Sorry in advance about the fucking carpet too. Damn it. Why do I even bleed?" No, really. It made you look weak, and demons evolved to be anything _but_ weak. "i dunno," Sans said while handing you a towel. How?- never mind. Probably shortcutted while you weren't looking. "anyways, put the towel on. i can shortcut you into the bathroom if you want," he said. "Okay." Sans shortcutted into the promised room, and left you be.

Mission: Try to get all of the blood off. Otherwise known as: Mission: Impossible.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Red seemed... less like herself. Or, what she became when she stayed with him and Papyrus. The lovely, yet stubborn, fox demon that he had grown to love. "Sans?" Said fox called, jolting him out of his thoughts. "yeah?" "Could you bring me some gauze and medical tape from my drawer?" She asked. "mhm." He went into their (now officially) shared room and over to the desk Red had organized. She even labeled the drawers! Sans opened her drawer, and looked for the items she asked for. He carefully avoided looking at some of her personal belongings, and instead finding the gauze and medical tape. Ah! Sans picked it up, closed the drawer, and walked to the bathroom door.

"knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"fox."

A sigh. "Fox who?"

"fox in," he slid a pair of socks under the door, "socks."

He heard a growl as she opened the door. Red had a wet shirt on and her tail was dripping onto a towel. There was a _massive_ cut on her left wrist. Sans's eye lights dimmed and he growled, "what happened?" She looked at him with soft eyes and used her right hand to thumb his cheekbone. "Magic suppression is my main weakness. When someone or something does that, I tend to... hm.. break? That's if the suppression magic is strong. But if it's weak, usually only my nose and eyes bleed," Red assured him.

She was so nonchalant about the fact that her body literally could tear itself apart.

"There. All clean and wrapped up. It should heal fast enough." Red said happily, "Oh, and could you bring me some clothes while I sit here and suffer drying my tail?" "yeah, i'll bring something warm," Sans responded. 

Sans brought her a fluffy pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. He helped Red to dry her tail off, and waited outside the bathroom while she changed into the comfy clothes. Sans held Red's hand while she trudged, exhausted, to the bed, and collapsed. He sat down next to her and pulled her up to him, placing her head under his chin. "Sans?" She said. "yeah, red?" 

"Thank you for bringing me home," Red whispered as she fell asleep in his arms. Her steady breathing calmed him, and despite the coldness of her body, he felt warm. Like he was loved and appreciated. He didn't get to finish his thought, as he was lulled to sleep by the calming waves that seemed to radiate off of her.

__________

Your sleep was plagued by nightmares. Though, each time you woke up, you were soothed by the fact that you were still with Sans. 

__________

(Papyrus's POV)

Papyrus wanted to talk to his brother. Red was probably asleep already, so he wasn't really counting on talking to Sans. He walked over to his brother's door, and opened it to see Sans propped up on a pillow in a sitting position with Red fast asleep against his sternum. He was awake, it seemed. Sans had a (rare) genuine smile, but it wasn't the normal grin shape he wore. It was softer. "SANS?" Papyrus managed to whisper. His brother looked briefly frightened, but relaxed when he saw that it was Papyrus. "yeah, pap?" "IS RED OKAY?" He asked. "as good as she'll get for now, i think," Sans said. "ARE _YOU_ OKAY, BROTHER?"

"best i'll ever be, bro." 

__________

You felt a warmth under you, and sniffed the air. _Sans_ , you realized with a small grin. "you up already? jeez," said the warmth. "Why are you up? It must be like, eight in the morning or something," you grumbled. "well, frisk wants you to come to their house at some point today. i _was_ gonna wake ya up in an hour, but you saved me that responsibility." You groaned. "I don't wanna get uuuuup....." Sans laughed above you and said, "neither do i. but we're awake, so let's just get getting up over with, eh?" He got up, and you whined because the warmth left. "Give warms," you said. "nope. get up. if i have to get up, so do you." You sighed. "Hnggg... fine.." 

You were dressed in a comfy purple shirt and jeans with your hair tied back. Toriel had kindly altered the jeans to accommodate your tail, bless her soul. Wait, you're a demon.

Oh well. 

"hey, _ewe_ ready? i'm about to fall _asheep_ ," Sans said while holding up a little lamb plushy you loved. "Don't ask me again, or else I'm going to _ram ewe_ into a wall," you told him. "heh. good one. a little bit violent though."

"Fox you!" 

"no, fox you. literally," he responded.

"Maybe later," you said with a wink and a shitty grin. Sans turned impossibly blue. "you got me good there," he muttered. You got up and walked over to where he was sitting on the bed. You gently took hold of his skull, and kissed his teeth. "But let's go now, hm?" You whispered. "yeah.. okay.." He seemed entranced. 

The two of you held hands as you walked out to his blue car. Stepping in, you asked, "So why did Frisk want me to visit?" "i have no idea, sweetheart," Sans responded. He hasn't called you sweetheart before. Has he? You didn't care. It was cute coming from him.


	18. So Much Fun

Unsurprisingly, Papyrus was already at Toriel's house, talking to Frisk. What was more surprising, is that everyone else was there, including Mettaton, to Sans's dismay. "what's he doin'back?" He asked Alphys, who was nearby. "O-Oh, he got back y-yesterday. He w-wanted to s-see Red, for w-whatever reason," she said quietly, to which Sans growled. You rubbed his hand softly, causing him to immediately relax, and you gave Alphys a soft smile. "sorry alphys.. just thinking about what he'd want with red. nothing against you," Sans assured her. Alphys nodded, and scampered over to Undyne, who was beckoning her over.

"HEY, PUNK! GET OVER HERE!" Undyne yelled. Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne were all in a little group.

You already didn't like where this was going.

As you began walking, Sans made you literally drag him. "Hey, stop being a dead weight, or else I'm gonna throw you into the ceiling," you told the skeleton. He sighed, and begrudgingly walked. So. Slowly.

Bitch, please.

You picked his (non-existent) ass up, and hoisted him over your shoulder. "I'm too lazy to throw you into the ceiling, so I'm picking you up instead. No complaints," you growled. "yes, fair maiden," Sans responded. "Fair maiden? Hah! Fucking bite me, boneboy!" You cackled. Wait.

What the fuck.

He literally bit you. 

"What was that for?!" You yelled. "well, you said to bite you. i was just obeying orders," Sans said. You threw him onto a nearby chair, and, giving Undyne the "wait" hand signal, walked over to Toriel. "Do you have a band aid?" "Of course, my child. Come with me," she said with a concerned face. Toriel led you to a door inside of a hallway, and opened said door.

She opened a drawer and handed you a band aid. "What happened?" You sighed. "I said 'Bite me' sarcastically to Sans, and he _literally_ bit me," you explained as you put on the band aid. "Oh dear," Toriel giggled. "Okay, I have Undyne and Co. waiting for me. Thanks Toriel," you sighed. "Anytime, my child." 

You walked back out into the living room, and over to where Undyne (and Co) were sitting. "So, why'd you guys call me over here?" You said. "PUNK! You took forever! Why?" Undyne yelled. "Well, I sarcastically told Sans to bite me and he literally fucking bit me," you answered, glaring at Sans (who was now asleep). The trio sitting in front of you began laughing uncontrollably. "W-Wait, you're k-kidding me, r-right?" Alphys said in between her laughs. "Nope. Had to get a band aid from Toriel because I was bleeding," you assured, "Anyways, answer my question." "Oh! Darling, would you like to go on a shopping spree with us? I'm buying," Mettaton said. Well, it couldn't hurt. "Sure. When?" "Perhaps tomorrow, dear?" He responded. You nodded, "Sounds good." 

"ANYWAYS! Do you like sake, PUNK?!" Undyne asked you with a fierce look. You _loved_ sake. " _Yes_. Where is the sake?" You said, looking around. Alphys handed you a glass. "Toriel's allowing alcohol in her house?" You asked her. "Sometimes s-she does. T-Toriel l-likes to d-drink wine sometimes," Alphys told you as you took a sip. "Cool. Don't let me drink too much. I can drink several bottles of sake and then I'll get all mushy and stuff, which I'd rather not be right now," you muttered. 

A small tug on your shirt called your attention downwards. Frisk, with Flowey in a flowerpot in their arms. _Hi Red_ , they signed. "Hey Frisk, Flowey. What's up, kiddos?" "I am not a kid! I'm the god of hyperdeath!" Flowey exclaimed. "Sure ya are, buttercup," you said. _We missed you_ , Frisk interrupted, with a pointed look at Flowey. "Yeah. Sure. _We_ ," the fierce flower said, crossing his leaves. "H-Hey, Red. Do y-you w-want to have a d-dance off w-with us i-in the backyard?" Alphys asked you. You put down your empty sake glass (oops..) and said "Hell yeah!"

After pouring a full glass of sake, you (stumbled drunkenly) walked out back. You noticed that Sans was sitting next to Toriel and Asgore. Your thoughts were interrupted by Alphys calling, "R-Red! What s-song?"

You briefly considered yelling "Darude Sandstorm" for the sake of memes, but a different song called you. It was a dead meme anyways. Instead, you walked over, and picked a song. It started playing,

 _"I think I lost my mind a while ago,_  
_Cause I've been seeing some ghosts._  
_And I'd be lying if I told you I'm fine._  
_But I lie._  
_Yeah, these thoughts I would never speak out loud,_  
_I've seen you cry but I've never seen you shout_  
_Like a hurricane, these shots don't ricochet._  
_Sight blurred I'm walkin' dazed, boy I'm fucking faded._  
_Or maybe wasted, I can't remember how it happened._  
_Oh I don't know my limits at all._  
_I'm sinking down into my thoughts._  
_Oh my god._  
  
_But so what if I drank too much?_  
_This ain't love, it's just a firefight._  
_And even if it's not enough,_  
_I'll say it once, I swear I never lied._  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_You'll ever bring me down._  
_Boy, you know I'm drownin',_  
_And I keep goin' down._  
_But I'll swear that I'm not, I'm not, I'm not."_

There was a pause.

  
_"It's friendly fire and sunlight,_  
_The aftermath of one too many w_ _ords I said, when I should have said nothing at all._  
_I gotta stop overthinking_  
_And missing_  
_What could have been._  
_You were never even really here!_  
_And still we are spinning,_  
_Just liars and cheaters,_  
_Right back where we started,_  
_But it don't get easier._  
_I am drowning,_  
_In liquor and apathy,_  
_Will be the death of me._  
  
_But so what if I drank too much?_  
_This ain't love, it's just a firefight._  
_And even if its not enough,_  
_I'll say it once, I swear I never lied._  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_But this is the last time,_  
_You'll ever bring me down."_

"Aight, Undyne and Co's turn!" You said. "I have absolutely NO IDEA how we're gonna out dance and out sing you! But we're gonna try! FUHUHUHUHU!" Undyne yelled, determined. "Good luck," you said to the fish-lizard pair, as you began to sit down next to Sans. The skeleton stopped you as he pulled you onto his lap. You huffed, "I'm still mad." "not sorry," he said as he pulled you close to him. You were in a death hold. There was no escape.

Sighing, you relaxed, and rested your head in the crook of his neck. Warm. You opened your eyes, and saw Alphys and Undyne giggling at you, with Mettaton (somehow) making a bewildered face. "Did I tell you guys to stop? Keep going, if you guys even started in the first place," you yelled. They looked mildly startled, but they played their music anyways and began to dance.

You were almost asleep, damn Sans. He was scratching your ears again, which made you both sleepy and mushy. And you probably had consumed an entire bottle of sake, which made the latter ten times worse. You had your arms around Sans's neck as you were purring softly. Why did foxes even purr? Did they? Maybe only you did. Oddball out, of course.

No matter. 

You drifted off into a drowsy sleep.

__________

(Sans's POV)

Red was cool. As in body temperature. She had fallen asleep with her cheek against his clavicle, so he could feel how warm or cold she was. Her little dance off was enthralling; the way she moved caught his (lack of) eyes, and her voice caught his mind.

Sans continued to think about Red while he drove home (he didn't drink) with her in the seat next to him. Papyrus decided to have a sleepover with Frisk, so he and his foxy partner were alone.

To be honest, they would probably just sleep - if not, they would eat and laze around. Sans arrived at the door to their humble abode, unlocked it, and walked inside. After locking the door behind them, he walked upstairs into his and Red's room. He placed her on the bed, and changed out of the hoodie and white T-shirt and into a loose black shirt. Red stirred, which startled him. "Hey.. how long was I out...?" She whispered. Sans's eye lights flickered to the clock, "about two hours," he responded. "Ngh, I'm gonna change into normal sleeping clothes..." Red groaned. "ok." 

Sans was laying down in the bed while Red changed. She returned from her _exciting_ endeavor (sarcasm), and groggily climbed (back) into bed. 

_________

You laid down on top of Sans in an almost C position, with your head on his (lack of a) stomach. Absentmindedly, you began to rub one of his ribs, and he seemed to tense up. It was probably uncomfortable, so you stopped. "Sorry," you said. "you didn't really do anything wrong, i'm just a bit sensitive on my ribs. unless you want to do _things_ , i wouldn't do much to them," Sans told you. "Oh. Okay. I won't do it, then. You seemed uncomfortable, so that's why I stopped," you responded, then half-giggled, "Also, I'm super sleepy, so I'm going to fall asleep right now. I'd suggest not talking to me, since you probably won't get a response." 

"heh, okay. and thanks for stopping when you thought i was uncomfortable." 

"I'd appreciate if someone did the same for me, so I stop when people seem uncomfortable in any controllable situation," you yawned, "Okay, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." "night."


	19. Oh, For Fox Sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire story, so far, has been pulled straight outta my ass so sorry if things don't connect for a while. i'll be tweaking past chapters too.  
> PLEASE CALL ME OUT ON ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T CONNECT. I WON'T BE OFFENDED.

_Red_.

All you could see was red. You were in your feral Nine-Tailed Fox form.

Attacking Sans. 

 _No. This can't be right,_ you thought. But then, you realized _you_ weren't attacking Sans. It was your body, but your mind and soul were not yours. You had lost them. Suddenly, you remembered.

Should a demon stay in a demon-prey bond for too long, the demon would lose hold on its mind. It would attack its prey, and _always_ kill it. 

You watched in horror as you simply spat fire at Sans, and crushed him under a massive paw. You saw fear flash through his eye sockets before a sickening _crunch,_ which made you almost vomit. 

~~_ **Friend. This is what will happen if you don't break or finalize your bond with Sans.** _ ~~

~~~~_I know. But that's so much to ask._

~~ **_I know, friend. He will understand - I know him. He and I are closer than you think._ ** ~~

~~~~_Really?_

**~~ _I do not lie._ ~~ **

~~~~You smiled softly at your friend's words. This man had been your friend for a lifetime, yet neither one of you really used the other's name much. It was a simple "friend."

_Hey._

**~~ _Yes?_ ~~ **

_Thank you, Gaster._

The goopy face managed to smile at you.

_~~**Of course, Red.** ~~ _

__________

(Sans's POV)

Red had woken him up by thrashing about in her sleep. He shook her, but she wouldn't wake up.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open. They were glowing a bright red, with translucent blood-colored tears forming at the corners. The hair on the back of her head seemed to be standing up, along with flattened ears and a fluffed up tail. It appeared as if she was also about to begin hyperventilating.

"hey," Sans said as he pulled her over, "you're okay." Red was shivering, but not with cold. "But I-" "shh. go to sleep. we can talk in the morning. i'm right here, i won't leave you," he muttered, and Red slowly calmed down. Her steady breaths assured him that she was fast asleep, and that he could sleep as well. Sans closed his eye sockets and gave into his exhaustion.

__________

You woke up in a warm embrace, which mildly startled you, until Sans's scent hit your nose. After carefully extricating yourself from his bone-crushing grasp, you walked over to the mirror. You were beginning to show the effects of your prolonged demon-prey bond. Longer nails, which almost looked like claws, frizzy hair and a messy tail. Your pupils were in a permanent slit-like shape, and your whiskers went farther down your cheeks.

You opened your mouth, and saw that your teeth were significantly sharper and more fanglike than before - they looked as if they could make a clean break through bone.  _Adaptations,_ you thought.

_Adaptations to kill._

 __________

(Sans's POV)

"Sans. Sans, please wake up," said a voice from above. He groaned, "wha..?" as he opened his eye sockets. Red loomed above him, a shadow blocking the light from the window.

Red looked like a monster. And not one of his kind - one that truly looked like it crawled out of a cave. "I really need to tell you something. Or warn you. Whatever you want to interpret this as," the fox demon said. Sans nodded, and Red sighed.

He felt a flash of fear when he saw her elongated and sharp fangs.

"Where to begin? Well, since we have been in a prolonged demon-prey bond, I'm starting to become.. less in control. The demon in the bond begins to gain more of its primal features - in my case, I'm looking more like a fox. Then, said demon loses its mind. It will attack the prey and _always_ kill it. A friend told me that the only way to reverse this is to either turn the demon-prey bond into a true soul bond, or to break it. Breaking it involves separation. I'm sure you know what a soul bond involves. So you have a choice - I won't be the deciding factor here, it's your choice - soul bond with me, or break the bond," Red explained. 

"i mean, i think i've made it clear that i do enjoy being with you, so i'll-"Sans began, but was interrupted by Red. "No. This is a major decision - I need you to think about this. I would say we have a week before I lose control. Give me an answer in six days. And Sans?" she said, "I know that we were bonded in other timelines, but this one is different, so really think this through, okay?" 

"ok," he said as he pulled her down on top of him and went back to sleep. She sighed, and fell asleep as well, despite the thoughts running through her mind.


	20. A Rose

You whimpered. The monstrous features that had appeared yesterday were becoming more prominent. Your ears had also begun to get longer, like those of a forest spirit, which you supposed was appropriate since you were a fox. 

"hey. you look fine, chill a bit," Sans said as he shuffled up next to you. 

The mirror said otherwise.

"actually, why don't i take you to toriel's house to talk to her? she calms everyone down." He offered. Toriel's house actually _did_ sound nice. You nodded. "ok. i'm gonna call her and make sure she's home," the skeleton said. "Okay. Let me grab something," You whispered, half to yourself. 

__________

(Sans's POV)

Red was being odd. Not like crazy odd. Just.. odd. Sans couldn't think of another way of describing it. She was being quiet and spaced out often. "hey. you okay?" He asked. "No." The fox responded simply. She appeared to be disturbed by the question, so Sans decided not to pursue the topic.

At some point, he and Red arrived at Toriel's home. The said goat woman was on her porch drinking what appeared to be a cup of tea. How ironic.

Today had not been easy, so far.

But, the fox demon at his side seemed to visibly calm down when she saw Toriel. "My child, what is wrong?" Toriel said as she put her tea down. Red just shook her head in response. Toriel seemed to understand, likely because of her motherly tendencies. "hey, tori. red is a little.. stressed. figured you'd be a good person to take her to for calming down," Sans explained. Toriel nodded. "Of course. I am going to go inside to prepare more tea for the two of you, alright? Please come in if you'd like," the matronly goat said. 

As Sans and Red were about to enter Toriel's home, Red said, "Sans. I need to stay with Toriel. If I'm around you when the sickness takes over my mind..." Red looked severely distressed at the thought. "Toriel knows how to help me. I'll be.. okay. Please don't fight me on this," she said as Sans opened his mouth to argue.

"okay. i'll trust you here. but please don't hurt yourself to try and keep me safe," he sighed. Red averted her eyes, whispering, "I can't promise that." As Sans was about to make another argument, Toriel called them inside.

__________ 

You had to pretty much force Sans to go home. He didn't want to leave you, but he had to. 

You had also explained your little issue to Toriel, and she understood. She had a vast knowledge on demons, mentioning she began research on them when she met you. "Toriel?" You said. "Yes, my child?" She asked.

"I need your help," was your vague and simple answer.

\----

"Are you sure, my child? Won't this hurt you?" Toriel said, shocked. You sighed. "Yes and yes. But it will be the only thing that can control me when I enter this... state," you explained. Toriel looked straight into your eyes and put her paws on your shoulders. "My child, why are you doing this to yourself?" The goat woman appeared to be tearing up.

You smiled and whispered, "To protect the ones who watered the rose when it was about to wilt."

\----

You sat in the room that Toriel had fashioned for you. It had only a sleeping area (not a bed) and a mirror, upon your request. In the state you would enter, any other items would be broken. Looking at the reflection in the mirror could help you keep some of your mind. 

Maybe.

Probably not.

You sighed, and decided to rest. But sleep would not come. 

It was going to be a long night.


	21. Wilting Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fuck ur feels

* * *

 

It had been a few days. 

Your pupils were just slits. Teeth sharper. Nails had become sharp enough to make a clean cut through bone.

But what was most interesting...

Your tails.

They had some small traces of white fur. They seemed to be.. bleaching themselves out?

What did all of these changes mean? You began to think. Was this in some kind of ancient book on gumiho? Maybe you could ask Toriel to bring you one.

You knocked on the door lightly, since Frisk had come back home to Toriel's house and was currently asleep. They whispered "Hello" under the door when they arrived, and you responded by tapping on the door. Speaking could have been a bad idea. You didn't know of any effects beside the physical and mental ones, but it was better to be safe. Maybe you'd breathe fire or something. But, you had learned otherwise through a simple test of whispering to yourself.

"Yes, my child? What do you need?" Toriel interrupted your thoughts from the other side of the door. "Could you bring me a bunch of books on gumiho and nine-tailed foxes? Weird items but... I think you can get them. Can't you?" You uttered. "Of course. I have friends who collect books such as those, and I am sure they will not mind lending them to you as long as you are gentle with them," she said. You breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Toriel." 

\----------

Toriel had brought a plethora of books. Surely one would have the effects of a prolonged demon-prey bond.

It took _hours_. But, finally, you found a book that gave you the answers you needed. It was actually written by a wise gumiho, which made it all the more reliable.

_"A prolonged demon-prey bond. The effects of this... affliction... are interesting. The fox demon becomes extremely attached to his or her prey and will often protect the prey with their life before the prolonged bond begins._

_Very few demons actually enter the prolonged state; usually their prey is dead, they have broken the bond, or they have finalized the bond. But those who do must be wary. This type of bond is deadly, to both the fox demon and its prey. It can break either or both of their souls._

_More commonly, the fox demon loses its mind due to the bond. It will grow into a more spirit-like figure, and gain urges to kill and absorb souls. For the most part, these urges are uncontrollable. Rarely, a fox demon can control these urges... or suppress them enough to where they almost do not feel them at all._

_These fox demons are able to ascend. They can become a fox spirit of the heavens. It begins with color changes. Normally, tails turn white. The hair and eyes depend on the fox demon itself. It will then begin to miss its prey. Not as a predator, but as a friend or even partner. The demon will, not soon after, fall into a deep sleep. It will awaken when each tail has turned completely white, when it has nearly completed its ascension._

_Nothing else is known after this awakening. Most demons cannot handle it due to their weakness and fatigue from the prolonged bond. They will die. No gumiho has ever been able to finish ascending."_

\-----

You laid on the floor.

" _I'm going to die,"_ you thought.

A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts. 

"hey." 

Why was Sans here? Didn't he know how dangerous being near you is? 

"Why are you here?" You said through the door. "i wanted to make sure you were okay," he responded simply. 

\-----------

(Sans's POV)

Red's voice was more like a growl. She probably didn't intend to sound like that.

Probably.

"you there?"

No response.

"red?"

Silence.

Panic began to take hold. 

"red! red, say something! shit, what happened?" 

The silence was deafening.

"tori! toriel! come open the door!

\-----

Red had collapsed on the floor near an open book. Toriel had the sense to read the book instead of panicking like Sans did. 

So, Red was.... ascending?

But.... the book also said she'd die.

For the first time in countless timelines, a tear fell from Sans's eye socket. 


	22. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> http://sta.sh/0dutpaihvvi  
> look at red, she's so cute.

(Sans's POV)

Sans held the fox demon in his arms. Toriel sat near him, reading the book that Red had collapsed near.

He took this time to really _look_ at her.

Behind all of the demonic features, Red was beautiful. Not in a... "supermodel" way, as Frisk described her, but... she just had certain features on her that stood out in amazing ways.

She was truly foxlike.

Her eyes were perfectly shaped, and when they were open, just large enough to where her pupils truly stood out. The sparkle was unforgettable. Her small nose had a sharp point to it, as a fox's nose would. Red's lips were thick. Her face in general was sharp and small. Red's eyes and lips created a perfect triangle on her face. Indeed a fox.

Why did she choose to ensnare him and let him go... just to trap him again? 

The first time, Sans was ensnared unwillingly and unknowingly.

The second time, Sans allowed himself to fall into her trap.

\----

"Sans?" Toriel had interrupted his thoughts. "yeah?" Sans said. "Well, I may have found something worth researching - apparently the prey in whatever bond you two have is able to save the.. demon," she continued. Toriel seemed unwilling to call Red a demon. So, Sans was not the only one who was completely charmed by Red.

"how? how do i save her? what does the book say, tori?" Sans was bombarding Toriel with a barrage of undending questions until she gently interrupted him by putting a warm paw on his shoulder blade.

"Relax, friend. The author of this book belives you have to stay with her while she is asleep. Apparently, none of the other gumiho had their prey with them, so this writer thinks that's what caused them to die."

Sans looked down at Red. So... he just had to sit with her? "that's it? i've just got to sit here?" He said, confused. "Yes. But the book also says that she'll be rather fragile after she wakes up. So, be careful, friend."

Sans nodded.

\----

It had been several days. Bordering upon a week, even. Red was still out cold and Sans was beginning to lose hope, albeit unconsciously. He didn't want to.. he readily admitted that he had fallen for Red. And he had fallen hard. Sans wanted to believe that she'd be okay. That maybe she'd pull through. But her lack of movement and the fact that her breaths were almost undetectable caused him to begin to lose that hope.

He joined the fox, who was in his arms, in slumber.

\----

A small movement on Sans's ribs woke him up. He groggily (and unhappily) opened his eye sockets to check what the thing that moved was.

Then he realized that Red was the only thing he was in contact with.

She had _moved_.

She hasn't moved since she had fallen into the deep sleep.

"red?" He whispered, as if she were a feather who could blow away in the wind without a moment's notice.

Red's ear twitched and her eyes barely opened. But the familiar, ethereal glow was there. 

Red was _alive_.

Even though she seemed to be clutching painfully onto his ribs for what seemed like dear life, Red was alive. Breathing. Moving.

"red? red, are you awake?" Sans whispered.

A tiny nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i can't leave red for too long.  
> she's too fun to play with.


	23. Woah, dizzy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bUSTS DOOR OPEN*  
> HEY FUCKERS
> 
> tbh i forgot this site existed for like months and then someone left a kudos here and it sent me an email and i suddenly felt like continuing this so here u go
> 
> should i continue this story is it interesting at all????

(Sans's POV)

Sans guided Red out of the room slowly. She was exhausted and a little bit dizzy from waking up. "tori?" He called to the goat woman. "Yes?" 

"she's up."

\----------

You felt _really_ dizzy. Clearly, you were out for a while. Walking next to Sans was easier, since he guided you through the blurry hallway. You could smell Toriel's sweet and warm fur from down the hallway.

Sans took you into Toriel's living room, and you were greeted with a fuzzy hug.

"Oh, my child! How are you?" The goat woman asked you enthusiastically. "Tired and dizzy... how long was I out?" You said slowly. "About a week and a half. Everyone was worried sick for you, child!" She said while helping you over to the couch.

You flattened your ears and frowned. "Oh. Sorry... I didn't know I was out that long. I wasn't in my body," you muttered and rubbed your eyes. "It's all right, child. What do you mean about not being in your body?" She asked, and Sans looked at you, concerned. "My... soul left my body, but I didn't die. An old friend helped me to make peace with myself, and my body, its looks still governed by my soul, changed as I made peace. I'd rather not speak of who my friend is," you explained

"Oh, my child, I hope you're okay." You wiped a small trickle of blood from your nose away, "Yeah, me too. May I have a tissue? I don't think you want me dripping blood on your clean couch," you said, frowning. Toriel nodded, and went to find a box of tissues for you.

"You should go tell everyone I'm okay," you whispered to Sans. He looked as if he was about to protest, but you have him a look which silenced him, and he sighed, "ok." You gave him a hug and said, "Relax, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here and talk to Toriel, okay? I promise." He sighed again and nodded. "i'll be back soon."

~~

You flopped back onto the couch while Sans shortcutted home. Toriel came back into the room and gave you the box of tissues, which you thanked her for. "I sent Sans off to tell everyone that I'm okay," you answered her question before she'd even asked, and she nodded. 

"How are you really feeling, child?" She asked. "Well.. different, for one. My new tail feels so... natural though. Like it was always white. But I feel, um, clean, if that makes any sense. Reborn, kind of, except in the same body," you explained, "but I hope these nosebleeds don't become a normal thing, they're kinda gross." You stuck your tongue out and made a sour face. Blegh. Toriel giggled quietly, "How interesting." 

Another dizzy spell came over you, and you rubbed your temples. Oof. 


	24. Thanks, Toriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wOW 2 CHAPTERS IN 2 DAYS
> 
> WHAT???
> 
> don't get used to it.

You groaned.

"My child?" Toriel said quietly. You looked at her and made a questioning noise. Too tired to respond. "Would you like to change your clothes? The ones you are wearing have a bit of blood on them," she inquired.

You looked down.

_Damn it all._

She was right and you nodded. Toriel got up and went to retrieve what was most likely going to be a robe (it was) and handed it to you. "Here, child. It's very soft and I made it warm for you," she told you with a smile. "Ah, I'm going to make some more tea," she looked at you, and you nodded again, "All right."

She wasn't going just to make tea, but to give you some privacy to change your clothes. But, she was making tea. You could smell it.

You changed quickly, and popped your head into her kitchen, and asked where you should put your clothes. She said not to worry about them, and held out a cup of tea to you instead.

Taking the cup of tea, you put it back on the counter, and suddenly hugged Toriel.

"Red, Red.. What shall I do with you?" She said from above your head after a while.

"I don't know," you said before you felt tears welling up and getting Toriel's dress wet with those tears. She sighed and patted your back.

"It's all right to cry," was all she said.

Your heart felt so heavy. No, not your _heart_ , your _soul_ felt heavy. The heavy feeling threatened to swallow you up. You continued hugging Toriel and cried more. 

~~

It felt like you'd cried for hours. 

You did stop at some point, though.

But you didn't stop hugging Toriel. She was so comforting. 

\----------

(Sans's POV)

He walked into Toriel's kitchen, confused as to why the goat lady and Red weren't in the living room.

"Hush child, you're all right. Everything is okay," he heard Toriel say. He turned and looked towards where the voice was coming from, and he was shocked to see Toriel hugging Red like a mother hugged her crying child. 

"red? are you ok?" Sans said, looking incredibly concerned. He saw her ears perk up, and she turned around with a small smile. "Yeah. I just.. needed a hug," Red answered honestly. She turned back to Toriel, "Thank you-" she began, only to be stopped by another hug. "Of course, child," Toriel practically gleamed,

"It's what a mother does."

\----------

You'd said your goodbyes to Toriel and you were getting ready to leave. She said to visit soon to pick up your clothes, to which you agreed enthusiastically. You and Sans walked outside the door, waving to her. She waved back, and closed her door.

He looked at you and held your hand.

"home?"

You looked straight back at him and held his back.

"Home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff stops immediately
> 
> red's gonna be a shitload more flirty now, like a fox should be. next chapter is gonna make you laugh or turn off your phone
> 
> no smut though
> 
> i promise  
> ill have to have someone else write that bc i dont think i'd be able to write that if i wanted to 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ;>


	25. What fresh hell did I pull this from?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mesoconfuse

Sans had teleported the two of you home and your first thought was of how badly you wanted a shower. You were most likely not pretty. And you didn't smell great.

"Okay, I'm super tired, but I want to shower. So, I'm going to do that," you told the skeleton who has his hand in yours. "you sure you don't want to wait till tomorrow?" He eyed you (really?) and you shook your head. "Nope. I smell really bad and I feel disgusting."

He sighed, "kay."

~~

You stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water before doing anything else. Definitely did _not_ want a cold shower. You put your used clothes into a neat pile on the sink next to the clean pile you'd brought as well. 

Stepping into the boiling shower, you felt a _lot_ better. Being clean felt awesome. You washed your hair, ears, and tail, and then the rest of yourself. Then, you just sat and enjoyed the warmth of the shower for a little bit.

~~

You got out, feeling super clean and surprisingly confident. Sitting on the floor, you began drying your hair and then your tail (it took ages). _The white looks really nice_ , you thought. Especially now that it was clean. You smelled nice too! You got dressed, and sighed in exasperation when you realized, "Fuck. I dropped my shirt." Doubting Sans was in the room adjacent to the bathroom and was instead downstairs, you dashed through the hallway and into your room.

Ah! There's your shirt.

You ran a hand down your face and sighed, and proceeded to slip on your shirt.

When you had the shirt halfway on and popped your head out through the hole where it was supposed to go, you noticed that Sans was _in the room_ , sitting on the bed.

He had massive blush on his face and was just staring at you, looking like you'd just shot him. You raised an eyebrow, and slipped the shirt the rest of the way on.

Surprisingly, you didn't feel embarrassed at all, and you know you should have been screaming or running out of the room, but you weren't.

Sans still hadn't taken his eyes off you.

You grinned mischievously.

"Like what you saw?" You said, somewhat sarcastically and mostly flirtatiously while walking towards him. His blush only got darker.

Oh boy. This would be _fun_.

You got onto the bed too, and, with a predatory look, ears shoved forward, you put a knee on each side of his legs and pinned him down, holding his wrists.

You stared directly down at Sans, and with a deep tone, you said, "I expect an answer," getting _very_ close to his face.

Unexpectedly, he removed his wrist from your grasp and pushed down on your neck so that you would kiss him.

\----------

(Sans's POV)

What the _fuck_.

Red had walked in, fucking topless, put a shirt on, and didn't go running out of the room when you saw him in there.

 _Oh no_. Red had done what he had least expected.

 _She'd gotten on top of him and had pinned him down_.

And she had let him kiss her like that. 

She pulled away, gasping for breath, but smiling down at him, she said, "I suppose that's a yes." Her breath was warm on his face.

"yes."

\----------

You got up, and noticed how sad Sans looked. Giggling, you went and turned off the light. 

Climbing back into the bed, you snuggled into his side and put your head on his ribs. He started rubbing your ears, and sleep quickly overtook you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not sure how much further i'd go than this, if i went further lol  
> this was fun to write, especially when i was supposed to be sleeping :^)


	26. Oof, My Ears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im skipping over christmas completely because i honestly don't feel like writing it  
> also give me ideas so i can write what you want to read x)
> 
> sorry not sorry.  
> also drawing of red i made in my spare time (lol spare time, more like the time i was procrastinating an essay)  
> https://imgur.com/a/GFCFl  
> i really like the way i went with her design. she's pretty but not too pretty and she's thicc like me. also big fluffy tail  
> (i highly dislike drawing freakishly thin characters.)
> 
> also also gonna have to pace my chapter releases so i don't burn myself out lol

"Morning," you said from the doorway of Sans's room. You'd woken up a little while ago, smelling something burning from the kitchen, which made you slightly worried.

Turns out Papyrus was just making spaghetti.

For fucking breakfast.

"hngg.. five more minutes.." he groaned. Sighing, you walked over and yanked the blanket off, "Nope. Get up. I'm going out today with Undyne and Alphys, and I figured you'd want to say bye before I left." That got him up. He sat up, "w-why..?" he muttered, clearly still groggy. You smiled, shifted your weight to one of your hips, and crossed your arms, "Because I want to go out with my friends, so I could gossip and be weird with them," you told him, "And I want to get out of the house. I'm going crazy due to the fact that I was stuck inside for a week, granted, I was unconscious for most of that time, but still. I really miss them too, they're really great friends." They really were great friends, you loved hearing about their activities and listening to Undyne's enthusiastic speeches about fighting.

~~

You'd managed to get Sans downstairs, and, instead of eating spaghetti for breakfast (you shivered), made yourself a few frozen waffles, to Papyrus's confusion.

"so, when do you think you're gonna get back?" Sans asked. "I don't know, what makes you ask? It's not like I'll be gone forever," you answered, raising an eyebrow curiously. "no reason.." he said, and clearly thinking you couldn't hear him, muttered, "just feels like you're gone forever when you're not here.."

You got up and hugged him from behind the chair he was sitting in, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, "Don't worry, I won't be gone for too long," you whispered, allowing yourself a vulpine smile.

He seems to sigh in relief, and right on queue, a you hear a loud knock on the door.

~~

"NERD!" Undyne yelled. Oof, you'd forgotten how loud she was, compared to the soft-spoken and timid Alphys, who also said hello, albeit much more quietly. You were pulled into a bone-crushing hug by the same loud fish woman, "WE MISSED YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US YOU WERE PROBABLY GONNA DIE? WE WOULD'VE TAKEN YOU OUT TO SHOP BEFORE YOU DID THAT! BUT, IT'S OKAY, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T DIE!" She yelled. "Ah... don't know. Brain wasn't really working I guess," you tapped your head with one finger. "NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH, WHATEVER! WE'RE GOING OUT TODAY AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FUN, DAMN IT!" She kept yelling and you still weren't used to the volume. "Okay, no arguments there. Let's go then?" You said to Undyne and Alphys (who was, as expected, being quiet).

Undyne ran out of the house, presumably to her car, and Alphys followed. She turned around to look at you and you nodded. Alphys smiled and scampered off to stop Undyne from (probably) suplexing the car.

You turned back to Sans and Papyrus, who were both watching the scene with amused looks on their faces. Waving, you turned and walked out the door and closed it behind you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry i wrote my essay before writing the chapter
> 
> p.p.s i did a lot of editing on some old chapters. mostly editing out some stuff that made me cringe a little bit or think "why the hell did i write this??"
> 
> *screams loudly*


	27. hlap me end thiS

yeah so tell me,  how would you want this story to end because i haven't a clue how to do so

 

i also lowkey wanna write a version of this with reader as a kitsune or huli jing rather than a gumiho 

maybe it'll be underfell too idk probably not who knows 


End file.
